A Better Easter Egg

I read in my Sunset Magazine that dying brown eggs results in richer color. We tried it last night for FHE and they turned out awesome! You have to leave them in for at least 10 minutes to get that deep shade. Maren was pretty fascinated and kept saying "egg, egg."

Private

Chris has finally convinced me to go private. I guess it is a little scary posting information and photos of our little girl for all the world to see. If all four of my readers will please leave a comment, I will give you access.

Say bees

Lately I am convinced that understanding a toddler can be compared to learning a new language. Maren is quite the talker, but sometimes she uses the same word for different things. For example, the word "bees" refers to bears and binkis. And the other day she FINALLY said "please," but (of course) she pronounces it "bees." You may be wondering how I distinguish between the three. By listening to her tone and using clues in the surrounding environment, I can usually crack the code. When Maren wakes up at three in the morning, crying "bees" I know she probably lost her binki and needs me to find it for her. When she hands me the TV remote or points to the cupboard with the chocolate chips and says "bees" she is asking for something. When she is watching Monsters, Inc. and points to the teddy bear on the screen while saying "bees," she wants me to notice the bear.

Next, I am working on deciphering "dada" which can refer to Daddy or doggy.

Bean Museum

One of Maren's favorite places to visit is the Monte L. Bean Life Science Museum on BYU's campus. On Monday, we took a short trip for FHE. She runs around pointing to all the animals and makes indistinguishable noises. During a previous visit in January, The Reptile Show was taking place and Maren was lucky enough to pet a snake, turtle, and blue-tongued lizard. Pretty exciting! I think my favorite exhibit is the big butterfly collage. This picture doesn't do it justice.

Another exciting event this week was my little brother's entrance into the MTC. He will be serving in the Columbia, South Carolina Mission (not too far from where we might end up). During my first year teaching, Garrett was actually a student in one of my Junior English classes. I felt really bad that he had to be in my class because, let's face it, how humiliating would it be to have your older sister as a high school teacher? (And he really had no choice, since I was the ONLY 11th grade English teacher in the school.) So, I did my best throughout the year to keep our little secret, but somehow other students found out. I was always impressed that my little brother was so cool about it and never let on that he was embarrassed. He was always such a good student and very respectful. I am very proud of all the wise choices he has made in his life...he is a great example.
All the teachers wear robes at graduation, if you were wondering.

Identify the essentials, eliminate the rest

This is the face Maren makes when asked, "Are you happy?" (And yes, that is a piece of floss she is holding in her hands. She likes to floss her teeth, a habit I hope she keeps!)

The past few weeks I have been doing some MAJOR decluttering. (This has all been brought on by the thought of moving across the country.) All these years I have been telling myself, "I don't have that much junk." But, last week I sold $281.79 worth of books alone! Yikes! I am excited (and a little embarrassed) I got rid of that much stuff while making money. Anyway, clearing out the clutter has been incredibly therapeutic, energizing and a bit addictive. The house stays cleaner, I am less stressed, and have more time for Chris and Maren. What more could I ask for?

As you may have noticed, I am also reading The Power of Less by Leo Babauta, which is pretty good and an easy read. The author also created the blog, zenhabits. Unlike many of the minimalist blogs I have come across lately, Babauta is a little more realistic. His main message is "Simplicity boils down to two steps: 1. Identify the essentials 2. Eliminate the rest."

This article is also worth your time. And I just had to include my favorite quote below.

"Each item we accumulate stifles us and robs us of freedom because it requires so much of our time to tend. We have to pay for it, keep track of it, protect it, clean it, store it, insure it, and worry about it. … Later we have to move it, hide it, apologize for it, argue over it. … But these things are valuable, you say? What about the value of the life and time to store, to clean, to insure, to transport, to protect—what does that cost? More than money.” -Don Aslett

If you're feeling in a funk, I suggest throwing out (or better yet, selling) the crap. You'll feel awesome!