Very Pinteresting

I finally caved and joined Pinterest. I knew it would suck me in and it totally did! After spending several hours pinning amazing ideas, I finally had to make myself stop just so I could work on some of the things I found. This week I went to town and made a few things. I made each of the boys matching bow ties for Easter and I can't wait to see how they look in them tomorrow. I made this cool egg garland to hang on our big mirror. That sure was a messy project! We dipped strawberries to make them into "carrots" but they didn't turn out nearly as cute as the originals. And finally I started on these neat bookshelves that I hope to be able to hang in Mason's room. I still need to paint them and the second one still needs some work, but they're getting there! Phew! Pinterest sure is a lot of work but I'm hooked!

Birth

Before I begin, I need to explain that a few days after we invited Prim into our home we took in another pregnant cat that Jeremy named Lillian after his grandmother who by the way was allergic to cats and hated them. Lily was another one of the cats brought into the clinic from the animal shelter to be spayed and you could tell just by looking at her that she was pretty far along. We already had one cat in the bathroom, what difference would two make? We waited and waited, and waited some more. There were many false alarms and a lot of disappointed and impatient family members, myself included and for a while we thought these cats would never give birth. Jeremy and I actually tricked the kids for April Fools day and told them the kittens had been born this morning. Looks like the joke was on us! I found Lily in a different spot than she usually is and she was breathing pretty heavily. As I watched her I could see her abdomen contracting and I quickly got the kids to come and watch. It wasn't long before the first kitten emerged, a little orange one and Lily knew just what to do. The first was followed by three little brown tabbies all wet and perfect, and looking to nurse immediately. Cameron thought it was awesome and he never left her side, except to go and get the camera for me. We all agreed the part about her eating the placentas was pretty gross, but it was so amazing that she seemed like she had done this many times before and it all came so naturally. The boys didn't make her nervous at all like I thought they might. She is such a sweet cat, I think she knew we were all there to help. Now we all feel like pros and when Prim decides to have her babies, we will all know what to do. The miracle of birth is amazing, whether it is a human baby or a kitten, so amazing to be able to witness.

Resurrection Rolls

Every year at Easter time our family makes these special rolls. I made them with my Granny when I was a kid and it makes me happy to pass on that tradition and to think of those special memories of Granny when we make them. They help us to remember the reason we celebrate Easter. Don't get me wrong, we love the Easter Bunny around these parts, but we also know it is important to honor the true meaning for this special day. The rolls are so simple, you take a tube of crescent roll dough and seal the seams to make 6 rectangles (or you can buy the new seamless dough), then you roll a marshmallow into butter and cinnamon and sugar and place it in the middle of the dough and wrap it around the marshmallow. The marshmallow represents Jesus' body being anointed with oil and linament and perfume/spices. Wrapping the marshmallow in dough is symbolic of Jesus' body being put in the tomb. Once you bake the rolls the marshmallow disappears and the rolls are hollow, just as the tomb was empty after Christ was resurrected. Every time the kids try to trick me into believing the marshmallow is still inside, but somehow it always disappears!

Meet Prim

A couple of weeks ago one of the doctors I work with brought in a cat from the shelter where she volunteers to spay because she was pregnant. The shelter euthanizes pregnant cats because they are just creating more kittens that need homes. Once spayed, the mama cat can go back to she shelter and hopefully be placed in a home. I asked about fostering the cat until her kittens were born and then I could find homes for the kittens and she could be spayed and returned to the shelter. I couldn't take that one home, but she promised me that she would ask when another came in. Yesterday she arrived to work with three pregnant cats for me to choose from, and while my heart ached for them all, I chose the one farthest along and named her Prim. From her x rays and ultrasound, it looks like she will be having 3 kittens within the next 10 days or so. I am so excited for my kids to see her give birth and to have some tiny babies in my home for a few weeks. I really hope there are three so each of the kids have one to hold :) If you are interested in a kitten, please let me know! You can bet I will post pictures of them once they are born. We can't wait!

Tradition

Something that I feel strongly about in our family are traditions. Whether it is that we have pizza and movie night each week or go to the Outer Banks every summer, I think that there is something so wonderful about having something that your family does consistently. You know what to expect and it just feels like- home. One thing that we do well in our family are the holidays. Even St. Patrick's Day. I love that these pictures could've been taken last year because every year it is basically the same: the night before we set up a leprechaun trap, the morning of we find little footprints all over the house, green pee in the toilets and some sort of gold that we managed to snag in our trap but no leprechaun. This year I think our trap was too small, maybe next year we'll actually catch one! We always have Lucky Charms for breakfast and have corned beef grilled sandwiches and potato chips, with green sherbet (or rainbow this year) and ginger ale to drink later in the day. The kids love it and so do we adults. Years down the road when the kids are gone, you watch and see Jeremy and I setting our traps out on March 16th :)

I've also included a picture of the desk I refurbished for Gavin. I got this beauty at a junk store in Culpepper for $25. It was hiding under some thick black and white paint, but after stripping her down I just had to leave the solid wood bare, at least on the top. It is a nice sturdy place for him to get his work done and he has been asking for one ever since he started kindergarten. I love how it turned out and he is thrilled to have so many drawers for his art supplies. I know it will get years of use and love from my boys.

Happy Birthday Daddy!

Got a lot of love between us. You're the best!

Talented boys!

Last night Mountain View had its yearly talent show. I really wanted my boys to participate this year, although Cameron was very reluctant. Eventually, I convinced him to play the theme to Star Wars and he practiced and practiced until it was perfect. Gavin wanted to be one of the announcers but he also entered a picture into the art contest for that night. I don't think I knew what I was in for. At the dress rehearsal we found out there would be 88 acts in the show!! Cameron was number 40. I was thankful it was before intermission so we could sneak out early. Gavin announced his big brothers act and Cameron played wonderfully. Gavin won second place for his artwork and they both earned medals. I tried hard to be the mom yelling the loudest for my boys, they made me so proud!

One other event worth mentioning would be our first stapled injury in the house! Mason was pushed into the treadmill last Sunday and had to get two staples in his head. I was thankful they did not have to shave his hair I've been trying to grow out! He was a brave little trooper, even when I took them out at home.