Tiny Triumph: Tea Party

Morning Glory,

What a fun way to accomplish Personal Progress Goals Together.  Thanks for inviting me.  It was fun to be able to wear Grandma Mattie's hat too.

Love,

Mom

Mommy's Gifts

Be Inspired,
Janelle Joy

How We Listen to General Conference

Listen to Conference!!
It is so much fun!!

Be Inspired,

Janelle Joy

Messy Faces

It is so fun to see pictures  of myself  and my three little girls all at age 1 and with very similar messy faces.

How else are we all similar?

Be Inspired,

Janelle Joy

Mother Steals Daughter's Ben and Jerry's

Angelisa,

I must make restitution for my sin of finishing your "half baked" ice cream which I really had given to you as a thank you for all your babysitting yesterday.  It was  a temptation I entered into in the early hours of the morning.  Ready to go get some more with me?

Love,
Your ice cream addicted mother

April Fools Day

Growing up my parents, especially my mom, really made April Fool's Day into a big deal and we always woke up to lots of jokes and funny surprises. I haven't done that as much in my own little family.  Well this year, Morning Glory made her Nana proud of her by bringing back the tradition with several little tricks including: water spraying out from a taped up kitchen faucet, finding shoes taped together when I was getting ready for work, and Lady Slipper couldn't use the computer mouse when she tried to do her homework because it had been sabotaged.  We got her back and she found  posters and other things on the walls in her bedroom turned upside down when she came home from school.

MG, thanks for bringing the fun back to the family this year!  I am still smiling about it!!

Be Inspired,
Janelle Joy

New Year's Eve

Can they make it to midnight?
Morning Glory is determined to and still going strong.
Lady Slipper was determined to and an hour ago we found her hidden behind a couch pillow fast asleep.
And our new little Starflower didn't even try to make it; in fact she slept most of the day.

Truly Tender: Big Sister

Morning Glory,

Thanks for helping her get all ready for church!   I really appreciate you!!

Love,
Mom

Truly Tender: Keep Crocheting, Mom

The most excited cheerleader for my crocheting hobby is definitely Morning Glory.  She spent quite a bit of time searching online for the perfect blessing dress pattern and gets so happy when she sees me sit down to crochet a row or two.  Often she sits next to me and helps with a few chain stitches and even learned to make a shell (two double crochets, two chains, two more double crochet in the same space). She rushes up to take care of little jobs she can tell I am about to get up and do saying "
I'll do it; you just keep crocheting."

Thanks for the break, Morning Glory. And thanks for choosing the pattern for me.

What tender moments have you had today?

Be Inspired,

Janelle Joy

Mommy Moments: Rubber Band Value Bracelets

Morning Glory is a new Beehive at church and is working on her Personal Progress award.  For her first value experience last month, she chose to learn more about each value by learning the color and what each one stands for.  She had an ingenious way to learn them: use her rubber bands to create bracelets with the value colors in them.  Each of us made a bracelet and both learned a lot about those values and had an easier time remembering the colors for each one.  It was a really fun moment with my girl. . .I love being a mom!!

Be Inspired,

Janelle Joy

Thankful Thinking: Great Friends for my Girls

Earlier this month, this is the surprise we found on our front door as Morning Glory's friends welcomed her into the Beehive class.  It was accompanied by lots of crepe paper strung around the bushes and trees in the front yard.  I still can't bring myself to remove the bees and hearts from the front door.  I am so thankful for good friends for my girls.

What are you thankful for today?

Be Inspired,

Janelle Joy

Truly Tender: Conversation Hearts

I got a great idea from a friend at work:  during the month of February, ask fun questions on heart-shaped papers and learn more about your family members who answer them.  I used the idea for lunchtime notes for Morning Glory.  I wasn't sure if she really cared about my little conversation heart notes until she started to make sure I didn't forget to send one with her  to school each day.  On one half of the front of each heart, I told her something I was thankful she had done that morning or the day before.  Then on the other half of the front of the heart, I would ask a fun question to learn more about her like "What is something you would like to learn about?"  and she answered the question on the back side of the heart.

It has been a wonderful way to extend Valentine's Day for the whole month.

I love being a mom!

Be Inspired,

Janelle Joy

Truly Tender: Morning Glory Monkey Bread

I woke up to have a fun surprise.  MG wanted to cook breakfast today.  She looked through one of her favorite cookbooks (Our Best Bites) and made monkey bread. mmmmmmmm.  Her dad even said it was better than donuts and he absolutely loves donuts.  

Thanks for the morning surprise MG!

What truly Tender moments have you had today?

Be Inspired,

Janelle JOy

Thankful Thinking: Sock Valentine

Since we don't wear any shoes while teaching kindermusik classes, I love to wear fun socks.  This morning, Morning Glory gave me a special valentine: "Want to wear my socks today mom?"  They were fun ones she got from her aunt (my sister) that say "heart breaker" on them.  I felt very loved and really enjoyed that sock valentine all day as I wore them to work.

Thanks, Morning Glory! I love being your mom!

Be Inspired,

Janelle Joy

Truly Tender: Lemon, Marshmallow and Ice Cream Tea

Lady Slipper has really loved playing with big sister's tea sets lately (Thanks for sharing MG!) 
I often look down to see a little hand reaching up for me to have another drink of some special healthy tea.  This time  she brought me a cup of "lemon, marshmallow and ice cream tea."  MMMMMM

I love being a Mom!

What Tender Moments did you have today?

Be Inspired,

Janelle Joy

Truly Tender: "Let's Chow down on Chowder!"

I had been feeling sick and doing even less cooking than usual (Hubby does it usually lately--I am lucky I know)  and we got out some cans of Progresso soups to choose from.  Morning Glory had a fun time with it even though she had had some the day before too.  She said it was alright as long as she could have the clam chowder and not the potato chowder.  Then she cracked herself up: "Let's chow down on chowder!!"

Thanks for cheering me up MG!  I love being your Mom

What tender moments did you have today?

Be Inspired,

Janelle Joy

Truly Tender: Percy Jackson Rivals Harry Potter

Morning Glory has loved Harry Potter books for the longest time.  Actually she has been pretty obsessed with them.  She not only read the whole series but re-read them and listened to the audio books over and over again.     She also continued her love for the Living Scriptures Dramatized Book of Mormon and New Testament stories, and the "Forgotten Carols" by Michael Mcclean which she still listened to quite often, but in the last couple of years not much else seemed worth a second time through, let alone several times through. 

A new reading obsession has officially been born.  Her teacher gave an assignment to prepare for next school year by reading the Percy Jackson series during the summer.  That teacher had no idea what she had started . . .

I love being a Mom :)  !!!

Be Inspired,

Janelle Joy

Truly Tender: Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boo

Last night as the girls were going to bed, Lady Slipper decided she wanted to go to sleep in a castle (under the slide in her room) instead of in her bed.  I gave her her lady bug pillow to bring with her and she wanted the blanket Morning Glory was using.  She asked for it in a very demanding way and trying to help her sister remember her manners, MG kindly said "what are the magic words?"  We shouldn't have been surprised when LS confidently cried out "Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boo!!"

Morning Glory, thanks for sharing your blanket with your little sister!

I look forward to many more tender moments today :-)

Be Inspired,

Janelle Joy

Truly Tender: Fish Tank Fun

This morning Daddy got up early with us and was excited to help the girls clean and re-do their fish tanks.  Morning Glory gave her little tiny tank to Lady Slipper and is going to use our medium tank as her tank instead so she can start to learn about salt water.

 It was so cute to see Lady Slipper's excitement when the first thing she was told when she got up was, "you have your own tiny fish tank!"  She didn't need her usual slow wake-up time. . . she became "un-groggy" almost instantly and decided to name her little tetra Starfruit.  Then she wanted to get right to work helping Dad clean out the medium tank.

Morning Glory had lots of ideas about the fun things she would like to do in her tank and was happy to use her hard-earned spending money.  She is definitely converted to the family fish hobby.  She often asks to go to the fish store on the way home from school :)

What a fun, fishy morning.

What special moments have you had today?

Be Inspired,

Janelle Joy

Truly Tender: Lego Friends

Morning Glory recently received some new Lego sets--the cute girly ones with pink and purple pieces and lots of flowers and butterflies.  Lady Slipper has been quick to come and want to play too.  I know MG really wants to have some time to play by herself, but she has been such a nice older sister and has been sharing them anyway.  This morning when Dad asked her if she wanted to put them away up high before she left for school, she said she would leave them out for Lady Slipper since she has been so nice and gentle with them.  I was very happy and impressed with the unselfishness of that simple act.

I love being a mom!

Be Inspired,

Janelle Joy