Messy Party

Cousin Benny turned 9 this weekend, and for his party he had a Messy Party.  What little boy doesn't just love to throw food and get messy?  Okay, two of the boys weren't too into it, but the rest had an absolute blast!

What is a messy party, you may ask? Well, it starts something like this:

And if you add some whip cream, it turns into this.

Give the kids some Jell-O and it really begins to materialize.

Enter ketchup, you get this. 

Don't forget the cooked spaghetti, the carrots and peas, mashed potatoes, and even more whipped cream.

And before long, you will know just what a Messy Party is. 

Don't forget the cake.  Who needs plates and forks? (Come to think of it, that's how the Evanses have done it for years, and we didn't even call it messy!)

Honestly, a lot of fun was had!  And, the insects of the neighbourhood will be enjoying the party for weeks to come!

Birthday Gifting - I think we'll call it GIFT 6

I'm poor.  I don't plan on always being poor.  But, for the moment, I am poor.

That being said, all the fabulous gifts I would love to bestow upon those I love will have to wait until my ship comes in.  Until then, I have to make do with what I've got.

I've got horses!

Today was my nephew Benny's birthday party (which was total awesome, by the way!) He got lots of lego, and cool toys, but we gave him some quality time, on horseback.  His present is to have a riding lesson, and then go for a trail ride with me and his mom.  I like giving this, because I find it hard to go out and ride as often as I like, so an excuse to do it is something I can live with.  Can't wait to party with my favourite nine year old!

Mop Top

Alice says I need a girl so I can grow her hair out.  I say I've got two boys with beautiful hair, so who needs a girl!

Okay, so that's his hair at it's worst, and maybe Alice has a point.  So, out came the razor and this is what we ended up with:

As much as Silas needs it, I just couldn't bring myself to cutting his hair. He is so sweet, even if Grandpa thinks he looks like girl! So the razor has gone away, and Silas still has his beautiful locks.

There's a snake in my boot!

I didn't want to cry. 

I didn't mean to cry. 

But seriously, when Andy said goodbye to Woody, I couldn't help but cry. 

Go, and bring Kleenex.  You won't regret it.

I'm not really big on commercialism and such, but Eli's love of Buzz Lightyear just drives me crazy with the cuteness.  Since Silas was born and Eli watched way too many movies for six months, Toy Story has been his very favourite.  We went to the third movie on Saturday night and seriously, I LOVED it!  Pretty sure I'm never throwing out another toy again, ever!

Eli came right home to play with his own Woody and Buzz.  Who can blame him really, they are the greatest.

And, thinking about my boy growing up and saying goodbye, made me cry just a little more.

Day something or other

Does bringing the snack to nursery count as a gift?  The kids really loved the yogurt. 

How about not going to the family party so as not to infect all with my sinus/ear infection?  Okay, that may be a lousy excuse, seeing as I did go to nursery, but I did feel like crap, and so I didn't go.

Tomorrow we are going to a birthday party, so the giving should be easy.

Out of the mouth of babes

I am continually amazed at the things my boys can teach me. 

For those of you who don't know my Eli, he is a very expressive child. I shouldn't be surprised, but he LOVES to talk, and is very interested in what words mean, and how to say things well. 

Often he surprises me by asking what a word means hours after I have said it. I love it!

Sometimes though, like all three-year-olds I'm sure, he gets frustrated when he doesn't get his own way, or can't express what he feels. I've been exploring ways to handle his frustrations. 

A few weeks ago I did something I've never done before.  I took my screaming boy and put him in our room and shut the door to his yelling and crying.  Luckily Jared was right behind me to go in and comfort him.  Not one of my proudest mommy moments, I have to admit.  

A few days later a similar situation arose, and I carried him downstairs to our room.  This time Jared wasn't around, and I had a little more self control, so sat down on the edge of the bed while he screamed: and this is when my baby taught me a lesson.  I asked him to relax, and in his fit he cried, "WILL YOU HELP ME?!!?"  

It was one of those moments when clarity hits you like a brick.  My poor Eli doesn't want to feel that way.  He doesn't like feeling that way.  But, in his limited experience here on earth, he hasn't yet figured out how to control those emotions and feelings.  All he wanted was his mommy's help!  And all it took was a few short minutes of hugging him and singing to him for a smile to cross his face yet again and for my little angel to return.  After all, that's why God made parents, right?

I hate to think how that would have turned out if I had shut the door again and let him deal with it on his own. 

A few days later he sunk the lesson in a little deeper when he did something rotten that I can't even remember right now.  I scolded him and he cried, "But I want to live with Heavenly Father."  Unsure of what he meant, I prodded. He said, "I want to be obedient and live with Heavenly Father." Apparently the lessons about being good so we can return one day to live with God had sunk in, and an opportunity to teach an even greater lesson arose: one about unconditional love. 

Again it made me think what I might have missed if I had just thrown him in a "time out" all on his own.

As I learn to help Eli manage his own beviour, and I grateful for the little moments where he teaches me far more that I am teaching him.  He has such a sweet spirit, and I can't help but think that God has placed him with me so I can get a glimpse of that unconditional love that he has for each of us.



When I need a little inspiration in my mothering, I look to men of God. This one struck me today:

"I fear you sisters do not realize in the smallest part the extent of your influence for good in your families, in the Church, and in society. Your influence for good is incalculable and indescribable. President Brigham Young said: “The sisters in our Female Relief Societies have done great good. Can you tell the amount of good that the mothers and daughters in Israel are capable of doing? No, it is impossible. And the good they will do will follow them to all eternity.”1 I truly believe you are instruments in the hands of God in your many roles, especially that of motherhood."2

Gifting gone downhill

Honestly, I have not fallen off the earth with this project.  I have given many gifts over the past few weeks that I wouldn't otherwise have thought to do. But man, a gift a day is harder than you might think.  As I've been on this journey I have really wanted to make sure I wasn't counting the every day things that I would do anyway, I wanted this to be something that stretches me.  So, as each day comes and goes I have tried to find moments that inspire me to give.  Unfortunately I have not done a great job of doing this every single day. I should be on day 22 today, and I really don't think I have given 22 gifts.  Sad.  I know.

But I have done some things.  Let's recap, and hopefully jump back on track. 

At Chapters I donated to the Love of Reading Foundation, which I have thought is really cool so many times, but never bothered to contribute to.  It's a fund that promotes literacy by donating good books to school libraries.  It always made me sad to see how few new books school libraries were able to purchase. Back in the day when I had money and bought way too many books, I would often donate them to my school library after I had read them.  I'm not sure if the junior high schools of Calgary would appreciate the birth, breastfeeding and parenting books that I invest in these days, so donating to this foundation seemed like a good thing to do.

I love my big sister Alice, who does so much for me.  As a small (really small) gesture of that love, I bought her a Booster Juice and brought it to her.  I love Booster Juice and think that would pretty much make any day for me, so I'm just assuming that it probably made her day too!

I took one of my best friends in the whole world, Nicole, horse back riding.  In a past life this would have been no big deal, but as I'm realizing, it is getting harder and harder to do things without my kids, and I can't really go galloping through a field with Silas on my back now can I?

I made two aprons to send to two different people for a gift exchange I am part of.  I don't really feel I can count this, because I will get gifts in return, but still, I made them myself, and think if I could count them as two different gifts it would make me feel a little less guilty.

My dear friend Sarah just had her third baby, a sweet little boy. More than anything in the world I wished I could be there with her.  But alas, I couldn't.  So, in an effort to send her some sunshine, I sent her a bouquet of beautiful sunflowers.  I've never sent flowers to anyone.  I hope she loved them.  I love her.

I sent out two hats that I knit to Utah.  I ran a blog giveaway, but still, I made them and gave them... right?  Does that count as two as well?

I'm sure there is more. I hate to think that in the last 22 days that is all I have given to the world.  Do Father's Day presents count?  If I count the hats and aprons that means I have done 13 of the 22 days.  Pathetic, I know. I'm sure I could count way more than 22 ways that others have helped me in the last 22 days. 

I will persevere.  I will not start over, but I will move on from here.  Let's pretend that all the time between then and now did not happen, and tomorrow is Day 6.  And please, if you need anything, let me know, because I'm looking for ways to give!