The Gift of Giving Life

If there is one thing I hope people visiting my blog know about me it is this: Motherhood is a joy and a gift in my life, even through the ugly days.

I have known when it was time for each of my children to join our family. It is amazing to me how similar, yet different, each of their births have been. I have learned that though they come from the same gene pool they are each unique with talents and abilities God has bestowed upon them. Motherhood is hard. Knowing what to do, what to teach, how to teach, when to teach is hard. Through it all I have learned that first and foremost they are the Lord's. And because they are His He will help me.

The Gift of Giving Life is a new book which shares the experiences of many women as they journey through pregnancy and birth, relying on spiritual guidance to help them in their choices, whatever those choices may be. It is so wonderful to read these amazing stories that draw us together as women, as mothers. I have asked Sheridan, one of the book's authors, to write a guest post for today. I hope you make her feel welcome!

I am excited to be doing a guest post as part of the Virtual Book Tour for The Gift of Giving Life. My name is Sheridan Ripley. I am one of the co-authors of the book and a Hypnobabies Childbirth Educator and a Birth Doula, I also blog at Enjoy Birth.

Personal Inspiration for Each Family

In the March Ensign I read an interesting article called Follow the Prophet by Elder Randall K. Bennett. In it he explains how while listening to the prophets and apostles during General Conference both he and his wife were inspired to return their engagement ring so they could use that money to start their food supply. Neither wanted to offend the other by suggesting it, but both were so impressed at the need to they finally did only to find each had felt the same impression.

“But the prompting each of us had felt was too strong to ignore, and the more each of us thought about it, the more glaring that diamond ring became. When Shelley raised the subject a few days after Christmas, I was relieved that she had arrived at the same conclusion I had.”

What is your first reaction to reading this? Are you quick to judge this couple for following a spiritual prompting? Are you feeling judged because you didn’t get the same prompting? Do you feel the need to defend yourself for having an engagement ring? Or are you just supportive of their choice?

“Please don’t misunderstand me and please don’t sell your rings! … the Spirit had directed US to follow the prophet by selling our engagement ring, in our case the choice was between keeping the ring and following the prophet. This helped us establish two patterns in our home from the very beginning: following the prophet and following the personal, spiritual promptings we received.”

This couple had many different responses, from support to outrage. But they stood strong, knowing that they were doing what was best for them! They didn’t judge others and they rejected others judgment.

“…they told us we were crazy. Other women Shelley’s age couldn’t believe she’d been willing to do what she had done. Very few were encouraging or supportive. Shelley was strong and knew that she would be OK no matter what people thought; she had confidence in knowing that she was following the prophet.”

Personally when I read this article it was with interest and I found it easy to accept their decision. I didn’t judge it and I didn’t feel judged that I had kept my ring. It just reinforced that we can receive revelation to guide our families. It won’t be right for everyone, but it can be right for us.

Inspiration for Birth?

I have spent the past few years co-authoring a book about spirituality and birth called The Gift of Giving Life. Approaching birth from a spiritual perspective can help end the judgment regarding a woman’s birth choices.

Sadly in some arenas it is as if there is a birthing war going on.

Natural vs Medicated

Vaginal vs Cesarean

Home vs Hospital

Why are we so quick to judge others in the birthing choices they make? Isn’t birth just as worthy a topic to receive revelation on as food storage is?

Of course it is! The gift of giving life is one of the most precious responsibilities we have. We can expect to get spiritual guidance along the way.

I think part of the reason birth creates so much drama is that it is of such importance in God’s plan. Satan wants us to be confused about the topic and so creates this type of contention.

Robyn (a fellow co-author) said on a post recently on our blog: “Really it is Satan’s deceptive plan to undermine womanhood and motherhood in any form (see Revelations 12). He wants to take away its value in any way possible.”

War of any kind whether it is between countries or between birth choices is going to create conflict and fear and that will drive away the spirit. Which in turn undermines motherhood!

What is the simple solution to ending this war? In the Prophetic words of President Uchtdorf

“Stop It!

It’s that simple. We simply have to stop judging others and replace judgmental thoughts and feelings with a heart full of love for God and His children. God is our Father. We are His children. We are all brothers and sisters”

Each family has the right to receive spiritual guidance on what type of birth is best for THEM.

For some moms an elective cesarean is the best choice. For some moms an unassisted birth is the best choice. For some moms scheduling an induction is the best choice. I really loved when Cocoa shared her birth story about Ganache where she had first hand experience of this herself.

Miracle #2: There was a tight knot in Ganache's umbilical cord that we did not know about. It could have proven potentially fatal for him had we decided not to be induced on Monday and waited for his due date of July 25th. This, especially, made me realize how very precious and miraculous it is that so many births go "right" when they very easily could go so "wrong." It also helped confirm that our decision to be induced on Monday was the right one, even though in the end he came on his own.

It isn’t for us to decide or judge a mom for her choices regarding her pregnancy and birth! It is for us to love and support.

Loving and Supporting All Moms

This is why in our book The Gift of Giving Life we support all moms and all birthing types. There are birth stories of elective cesareans, unassisted births, medicated and un-medicated births. But in all of the stories there is a thread of inspiration guiding these moms.

There is no one right answer for everyone. The only way for a mom to find the right answer is through information and inspiration. As Sisters in Christ let us be open to the spirituality of birth, however that “looks”. So we can support each other as we fulfill this invaluable role as mothers in the plan of salvation.

Visit The Gift of Giving Life site to sign up for our newsletter and to receive a free Meditation MP3 as well as tips to help increase spirituality in your pregnancy and birth.


For Cocoa’s readers I have a coupon code for 10% off a copy of The Gift of Giving Life. Click here and after you add the book to your cart use this coupon code. GWFWXR3F The code is good until Father’s Day 2012. Enjoy!

© 2007-2012 Chocolate on my Cranium, LLC all rights reserved

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Pregnancy and Weight Gain

My side of the closet is bigger than my husband's side. I have twice as many clothes as he does. Not because I am a fashionista, far from it! Instead my clothing is divided into regular, maternity, and in-between. One shelf for each {see, I told you I am not a crazy clothing lady!}. The "regular" size has definitely gotten closer in size to the in-between. Thankfully, they haven't merged . . . yet!

Why do I share about my clothes? Because it chronicles the journey I, and many women, make through pregnancy after pregnancy dealing with the roller coaster of weight gain and loss {maybe more gain than loss!}. A few weeks ago Tristan asked "How do you handle getting and staying healthy while having so many consecutive pregnancies?" I'm not sure I am a good example of this {especially the last few years} but I do try!

First, what I don't do is make a big deal out of the weight gain. I want my daughters {and my sons} to have a healthy view of a woman's body in all the stages it goes through including pregnancy. Weight is an inevitable part of pregnancy. What is hard is losing the extra weight especially when children come close together.

Here is a glance at my pregnancy and weight gain journey. I am 5'2" just so you know.

Fat Jiggling Machines: What Were They Thinking?

As you can see I started off tiny. I was pretty athletic but not overly so. After child #3 I never got below 120, mostly because I thought that was too thin. I did pretty good getting my weight back down to the 120s until those miscarriages. The year was 2008. It was a hard year because of many changes that happened. I've written about that before. I weighed 20 pounds more at the end of that year than I did at the beginning. I've had two more children since then and just haven't lost the extra weight. . . .yet. I am working on it. Right now I weigh 150 but have been slowly losing weight for the last two months {more on that later in the post}.

What have I done over the years to lose the pregnancy weight?

☀ Make time to exercise. We all know the benefits of exercising. It helps us feel better. We have more energy. It helps us combat certain health conditions and diseases. Even knowing we should exercise doesn't mean we actually do it. This is especially hard for moms of lots of little kids. It seems like you just get started and some little one needs your attention NOW. There a few ways I have tried over the years to resolve this.
Get up earlier in the morning. Child #2 was wonderful as a baby. I was able to get up in the morning and exercise for an hour while she lay contentedly awake in her crib. I am a morning person and prefer to exercise in the morning. This really isn't an option right now for me because I teach early morning seminary.
Break the exercise sessions up into smaller ones throughout the day. There were some years where I had to do 10-15 minute exercise sessions three times a day.
Have my children exercise with me. The younger ones love to imitate. When they see me walk out with my exercise clothes on they immediately go and get their little one pound weights and join me in front of the tv. Now my older girls exercise with me to encourage me and also to get in their 30 minutes of required exercise for their P.E. classes. It's a lot of fun to do it together....and I think the laughter that ensues from our conversations is just as healing and healthy!

☀ Find an exercise program that works for you. The one video I have used consistently throughout the years is The Firm Low Impact Aerobics. It is an oldie but goodie. I have tried some of the newer exercise videos that people get excited about. Honestly, they don't work my muscles as much as The Firm does. After making fun of me and the video for a week {it was made in the late 80s} my daughters decided to try it. Guess what their favorite video to do is now? :) I also go jogging and walking every other day for variety. My goal is to be able to run around a section of our land - 4 miles.




☀Eat healthy. When I had to meet with a dietician for my gestational diabetes I had to bring a list of everything I had eaten the previous week. She looked it over and said, "I think you are the first person I have met with where I don't see a thing wrong with the way you eat." We don't have pop or juice. We don't eat processed food {for the most part}. We eat whole grain foods, including homemade whole wheat bread. We have a variety of fruit and vegetables available for snacking and as side dishes. I only had to make a few small adjustments to my diet when dealing with the gestational diabetes. It was easier because I was already used to eating healthier than the average American.


☀Stop making excuses. This is for me right here, right now. After Ganache was born I wasn't thinking about exercising or losing weight for the first three months. I was worried about making sure he got fed and gained weight.


Then the excuses started. It was October and we were just beginning birthday season at our house. From the end of September through the end of January there is a birthday every two weeks. Then there was Thanksgiving and the Christmas holiday season. I told myself it would be too hard to start exercising and losing weight with all those delicious holiday foods available to eat. I gained more weight over the holidays. January and February came. It was too cold to go outside and walk. The days were shorter, there wasn't time to fit in exercise. March came and I realized I really should do something. I started walking but only for about 30 minutes every other day. Finally the beginning of April came I realized I needed to stop with the excuses.


I weighed 160 pounds and was still wearing my 'in-between' clothes. Not good. It was no fun realizing I weighed as much or more than I did at the end of pregnancy with eight of my children. I started by eating smaller portion sizes. I lost eight pounds the first three weeks. I decided it was time to seriously start exercising. Up until this point I was just walking three times a week. I did The Firm video everyday for two weeks and guess what happened? I gained those eight pounds back! And yet, I wasn't too discouraged. I dropped a pants size and was starting to see the results. After adjusting my diet slightly {lowering carb intake a little bit} those eight pounds plus two more have come off. I am down another pant size and into my regular clothes again! My goal is to get back into the 120s by the end of summer. There are 14 weeks until the end of August so with a healthy weight loss of 1-2 pounds a week it is totally doable.


I'll keep on trying to follow my own suggestions and report back periodically during the summer to let you know how I am doing.


What have your experiences been with pregnancy and weight gain/loss? What do you do to stay healthy?

© 2007-2012 Chocolate on my Cranium, LLC all rights reserved

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Meal Planning for a Large Family

Q. What is a typical week of meals for your family right now?

A. I love our farming, homeschooling lifestyle. One of the biggest reasons is we get to eat all three meals a day together as a family. This also means somebody has to make all those meals. If we aren't prepared by knowing ahead of time what we will cook there are a lot of disappointed people in the house.


This is our menu board. It's just a big picture frame with fabric that matches our kitchen behind the glass. The glass part is 16x20. That's a nice big writing space. You'll see why in a minute. During one of our mother/daughter times Brownie helped me cut out the vinyl lettering. I love it! Whoever has cooking for the week fills it out for all to see. Sometimes someone will sneakily erase something or add something else they have been craving.

I suspect we go about menu planning like most everyone else does. We look through our cupboards/pantry to see what we have in stock, search the grocery sales ads for good deals, then scour our cookbooks before actually writing down a menu. This helps to keep our costs down to about $125-$150 a week or about $5.95 - $7.14 per meal for the entire family. {more about our grocery costs in another post}

One thing I have found we do differently is the amount of side dishes we have especially for our biggest meal of the day which is lunch. It is not uncommon for us to have a main dish, at least two or three veggie options, a salad {fruit, jello, pasta or green}, and a bread. We've found instead of tripling a main recipe {that usually feeds 4-5 people} we can get away with making only one recipe because we all fill up with the cheaper side options. Now you know why our writing space on our menu board is so big. We need room for writing all those side dishes! And we do write them all down. After making our menu we can then see exactly what ingredients are needed for each meal and make our grocery list for food we don't already have in stock.

Here are the typical main dishes we have for each meal.

Breakfast:

• oatmeal or granola with lots of topping options - fruit, nuts, cream, cinnamon and other spices, yogurt 
• cream of wheat
• pancakes {fruit, oatmeal, whole wheat}
• waffles
• biscuits {served with cheese sauce or sausage gravy, or plain with jam}
• french toast
• cornbread
• German pancakes {hootenanny}
• quiche cups
• muffins {all types}
• crepes with filling options
• eggs - flat, scrambled, poached, or hard boiled
• hashbrowns
• sausage
• bacon
• toast
• fruit smoothies
• cold cereal {only once in a great while}

We always have at least four fruit options available to eat with breakfast: apples, bananas and then whatever is in season - berries, mangoes, grapes, oranges, etc. Our favorite drink for breakfast is milk or chocolate milk.

Lunch: {this is only a sampling}

• Hawaiian Haystacks
• Teriyaki Chicken
• Sweet and Sour Chicken
• BBQ Chicken
• Fried Chicken
• Chicken Broccoli Casserole
• Chicken and Rice Casserole
• Chicken Noodle Soup
• Mexican Haystacks
• Tacos
• Enchiladas
• Burritos
• Hamburgers
• Taco Sotp
• Tin Foil Dinners
• Navajo Tacos
• Porcupine Meatballs
• Lasagne
• Spaghetti
• Lentil Stew
• Beef Stew
• French Dip Sandwiches
• Stir Fry
• Fajitas
• Quesadillas
• Lemon Salmon
• Tuna Noodle Casserole
• Panini Sandwiches
• Pizza
• Baked Potatoes

Dinner:

• Leftovers
• Salad {Ceasar, Spinach Strawberry, etc}
• Choose anything from breakfast or lunch  :)

Side dishes:{a sampling}

• cooked veggies - plain {peas, green beans, broccoli and cauliflower, carrots, corn, mixed peppers and onions, etc.}
• raw veggies
• salads - pasta salad, fruit salad, green salad, jello salad, bean salad
• potatoes au gratin
• french fries
• broccoli roll ups {baked in crescent rolls}
• black-eyed peas
• couscous
• rice

Snacks:

• Fruits of all kinds - apples, bananas, raspberries, mangoes, strawberries, grapes, oranges, kiwis, etc.
• Veggies- Broccoli, Cucumber, Cauliflower, Carrots, Jicama, Celery, Grape Tomatoes
• Cookies
• Muffins
• Granola Bars
• Mozzarella Cheese Sticks

I've shared a lot of recipes over the years. Most can be found by clicking the Cookbook option in my menu board at the top of the blog. Apparently I really like to share desserts!


Just about everything we cook and bake is made from scratch. Good home cooking just can't be beat! It's one of the best ways to show love to your family.

© 2007-2012 Chocolate on my Cranium, LLC all rights reserved

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Enjoying Young Adults in the House Rather Than "Teenagers"

I love having young women in the house! My oldest girls are 16, 15 and 13 and let me tell you they are a joy to have around. We have been missing them the last week and a half as they have been vacationing in Florida with my parents. Thinking about them while they are gone has made me realize just how wonderful they are and how enjoyable these teen years can be for a family.

{Bon Bon, age 16}

When my older girls were the little girls we often received comments like "You have five girls? Good luck with that when they get to be teenagers!" And now when we go shopping in town {with all the kids} we get "You have three teenage girls! How do you survive?" I'm so glad we were wished all the luck. It worked. We survive because we don't believe in 'teenagers' as most westernized people do.

{Semisweet, age 15}

Good read-a-loud books are priceless. It was while reading books to my older children when they were little that I realized pre-1940 "teenagers" didn't exist. There were children and adults, with those in in the "teen" years being considered young adults.

{Brownie, age 13}

It struck me that the dreaded teen years were a rather new phenomenon. And mostly of our own making. Did you know that the first documented use of the word teenager is in a 1941 Reader's Digest? This realization helped Mr. Ferrero Rocher and I adjust our parenting so instead of dreading "the teen years" we looked forward to having young adults in the house. And by golly, it has worked! {so far}

What do we want our children to be? We want them to be well rounded adults who care for others, are selfless, know the skills to take care of themselves and their own families, who contribute to society, who are deeply religious and have a faith in God that will carry them through the rough times they will inevitably have in their lives. We have parented with that end in mind.

What have we done?

• We never talked about "the teen years" with dread or angst. Instead we have spoken about the increased opportunities to learn and grow and serve and the freedoms and responsibilities that go with that.



{Cleaning and cooking are more fun with a cute apron. Dressing up as a 1950's housewife helps too!}

• We've taught them skills as children that they are honing now as young adults. One example is cooking. Before the age of ten they help out in the kitchen learning how to cook, read recipes, plan meals, etc. By the time my children are twelve they are in charge of menu planning, grocery shopping, and cooking for the whole week. That's 21 meals! And they are good at it. The weeks are rotated and spread out enough that they look forward to their week of cooking. The same will be expected of my sons when they reach that age.
• As they have grown we have increased their responsibilities at home and on the farm. These aren't "little" responsibilities with no value but rather ones they know really contribute to our family's well-being. See above for an example.
• Let them make their own decisions. One example - what to do for high school. We explored together all the options available to them including public school. We discussed pros and cons, making charts that eerily brought back memories of my parents doing the same with me. And then we let them decide what they wanted to do. It was their schooling, their future.
• They have learned to respect and trust us and our judgements as their parents. Conversely we have learned to trust them and theirs especially as they have shown good judgement in the past. These two - making decisions and trust - build on each other.
• Increased their circle of friends to include not only peers their age but adults and children too. A quick scan of Bon Bon's facebook friends shows an almost even split between peers her age and adults. I know every single one of them and they are such good people, mentors really, to her. When you think about pre-1940, those in the teen years were either working alongside adults {think family farm} or apprenticed to adults to learn special work skills. After 1940 most teens where grouped together according to age to learn from one another rather than from those more experienced. This grouping actually happened before that, around 1900 but after 1940 showed the biggest change. The circle of people who influenced teens for good decreased.



{Recreating a photo from 12 years ago}

• Humor. A good does of humor goes a long way in diffusing tense situations. Laughter IS good medicine. Knowing when to laugh at our mistakes helps us realize that 1) we will make mistakes 2) it's okay to acknowledge them because 3) we learn from them and move on. Having a good sense of humor also makes you easy and enjoyable to be around.
• Siblings will always be your best friends. :)

One more  suggestion geared directly to those raising daughters. I often get asked about dealing with "hormonal" teenage girls. How do we survive with three in the house? For most of my married life I have either been pregnant or nursing. I don't menstruate while nursing. My daughters have never seen me act "hormonal" or cranky due to PMS. As they have hit puberty they didn't know it was an "option" or an "excuse" women use to act cranky/crazy/emotional etc.

{Bon Bon comforting a crying Hershey}

Knowledge is power. They do know there is an increase of hormones and these will effect how they feel. They also realize they have the power to choose how to let those emotions show. Instead of snapping at a sibling they take their aggression out on the piano. A chick flick is watched so there's an outlet for crying. And they always know if they just need to talk they can come to me or their dad. Honestly, if you came and spent a month or two at my house you wouldn't be able to tell who was having a period or when. I asked Mr. Ferrero Rocher last night if he could tell and he said, "Nope, not at all." 

I realize right now we just have young women in our home. Our approach might change a little with our sons, but I don't think it will that much. My friend, WaterWorks, has written a great post about the young men in their house. Stop by there for a visit and see if anything she has written can help you!

How have you found the teen years to be in your house? What have you learned that could help others? Share in the comments!

© 2007-2012 Chocolate on my Cranium, LLC all rights reserved

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Because motherhood is just like that

Corn.

It took four full moons to grow. Another to dry.

I watcher her hands swiftly pat the masa, spread the meat {eight hours of simmering tender} pinch and seal and wrap in its corn husk blanket.

Three hours of steaming. For what?

Tamales, hot, spicy, tender. Devoured in five minutes, ten if eaten slowly.

And isn't motherhood just like that?

dishes to wash {one is never really caught up},
floors to mop,
laundry breeding piles on its own,

milk, white and creamy, spilled every which way,

the sickness and worry, driving here, there, everywhere

your heart bleeding open

life so fragile you feel as is you'll be blown away

and then

then

you are blown away

by this

and this

and this

small five minutes, ten minutes, fleeting minutes of

pure joy,

tender mercies of grace.

"[Grace is] a word that occurs frequently in the New Testament, especially in the writings of Paul. The main idea of the word is divine means of help or strength, given through the bounteous mercy and love of Jesus Christ. It is through the grace of the Lord Jesus, made possible by his atoning sacrifice, that mankind will be raised in immortality, every person receiving his body from the grave in a condition of everlasting life. It is likewise through the grace of the Lord that individuals, through faith in the atonement of Jesus Christ and repentance of their sins, receive strength and assistance to do good works that they otherwise would not be able to maintain if left to their own means. This grace is an enabling power that allows men and women to lay hold on eternal life and exaltation after they have expended their own best efforts."

enabling power,

fuel for the soul,

water to fill my cup.

Motherhood is just like this.

Dedicated to my own dear mother whom I can never repay and still don't fully appreciate.

I love you, Mom!

© 2007-2012 Chocolate on my Cranium, LLC all rights reserved

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Mother's Day Goodness

A few goodies about mothers I wanted to share with you. First is a new Bible video "Mary, the Mother of Jesus."


Next is this song by Calee Reed. Her mother died last year of cancer. This is a tribute she wrote to her mother. All proceeds from the sale of "She Put the Music in Me" will be donated to the Huntsman Cancer Foundation.



Elspeth Young has completed another beautiful painting, "Bearing a Child in Her Arms." Please go and read the artist's commentary at that link.

The symbolism included in this painting is simple yet profound. A note to my girls: I want this for my birthday {in November}!

And a few beautiful articles to read:
The Habit of a Mother Who Changes the World by Ann Voskamp  "Houses may be bought, built, or borrowed. But homes can only be made. And only with bits of ourselves."
Celebrating Motherhood by Misty "Mother’s Day is not merely a time to remember those who bear children, but a celebration of the essence of who we are as women. Matthew Cowley taught that women “are born with an inherent right, an inherent authority to be the saviors of human souls.”"

Happy Mother's Day to all of you!

© 2007-2012 Chocolate on my Cranium, LLC all rights reserved

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Wordfull Wednesday: Those who have mothered me

There have been so many, too many to name.

My sweet great-great aunt who didn't mind a precocious three year old coming to visit every day.

The jind "grandmother" who "adopted" us when our own grandmothers lived far away.


Karon, who taught me how to make bread, whose recipe has now been shared and made all over the world.

Beulah, who truly made her home a 'promised land' and shared her bounty with everyone {and saved her watermelons for my girls!}.

The unknown woman at the store who smiled at my children on a particularly hard day.

Robin, who stayed with me when my husband couldn't be there during Ganache's difficult blood drawing.


"Again, do it again!" Those infamous words repeated by my piano teacher who pushed me to do better.

Eve, Sarah, Rebekah, Mary, Abish and countless other scriptural women whose lives are there open for all to see, whose examples have guided me.

Aunts who have watched, sent birthday cards, spoiled, and encouraged, continually encouraged.

"Are we not all mothers? Motherhood is more than bearing children. … It is the essence of who we are as women." (Sheri L. Dew)

I am so thankful for the women who have been present in my life and in the lives of my children. They each help to fill in the gaps, smooth the edges, and fill us up. Through their individual lives the light of Christ shines through helping to light the way back to Him.

Join us for Wordfull Wednesday! Write a post about those who have mothered you. Leave a link and go read posts other's have linked to.



© 2007-2012 Chocolate on my Cranium, LLC all rights reserved

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Joy in Spilled Milk

On Sunday I learned a simple little lesson from Hershey...or more accurately several lessons.

One: Dancing and singing {to her little brother} can bring joy and laughter, even to those {her little brother} who are crying.

Two: Dancing and singing while holding a cup of milk also brings laughter.




Three: Dancing and singing energetically while holding a cup of milk results in an abrupt stop to the dancing and singing.




Four: Spilled milk still tastes good even when on your face.

Five: There is joy to be found everywhere in everything.....and having a little bit of humor really helps.

Six: Baths a great!

© 2007-2012 Chocolate on my Cranium, LLC all rights reserved

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There is Sunshine in my Soul Today

{Taking a cue from my friend who titles her blog posts from lines in music}

What do you do when your children say, "Come play with us, Mom!"


You obey!

Yesterday {and today} have been gorgeous! We have been soaking up the clear skies and 70-80 degree Spring weather. Next week temps will probably be back in the 40-50 range, this is Northern Nevada after all.


We basked in the sunshine,


had crawling races,


crab walk races,


rolling races,


and wheel barrow races.

We also laughed, enjoyed each others company, and built a memory.

Sometimes the best things really are free...and easy to do.

What have you done with your children lately? 
© 2007-2012 Chocolate on my Cranium, LLC all rights reserved

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