Spring has sprung!

The one thing I always remember about spring is my mothers flower beds. She always always always had flowers planted in our front yard growing up. Her favorites are pansies, tulips, and marigolds. So whenever spring hits-I usually think of my mom.

Uncle Guy came to visit and maya LOVED that. You see, when people are only there for a few days, she knows her chances of bossing them around the whole time (and them actually listening to her) really increase. She took full advantage of it and had him doing everything she wanted. She sure loves her Uncle.

Tuxedo's

I was pretty excited about these. I found out why the colors black and red are a decorators nightmare....I had tried red before, but black was a whole new thing. Word to the wise...if you ever need black frosting and you dont mind the taste-use a store bought tub of chocolate frosting to start you off. It gives it a nice base to build off of instead of trying to get it from white which will probably only end up giving you a really dark gray. If you don't want chocolate-i've heard dying your frosting green first really helps.

Loosen up mom...

So since Maya has been born I admit I am not always the best about being relaxed and letting her get really messy. When she's eating-sure. When we are camping-to be expected. But since she is a girl I always put in effort to make her look adorable so I wanted to keep her that way. This year though I have realized I just need to let loose and let the girl play in the dirt. I mean really, how many two year olds do you know that always look clean and tidy all the time? I must admit I know very few, and the few that are have there mothers chasing them around cleaning up after them and wiping away crumbs and smudges. Since that takes more energy than I feel I have at the moment, and being messy is part of being a kid- I have decided to let loose and I don't think Maya could love life more.

I feel like my energy is starting to return and while I am not fully off my medicine yet...I'm getting there. The most glorious feeling though was when I had the desire for food again. I can't tell you how many meals I have cooked for Ryan these past few months. Oh wait actually I can...about 4, and I think on all 4 times it was because we were feeding the missionaries. But this week I had the urge to actually plan a menu and go shopping. A few of the meals on the menu are Tuscan White Bean and Garlic Soup, Southwest Salad With Grilled Corn and BBQ chicken w/cilantro, avocado, and lime, and finally one of my favorite meals: Avocado and Corn Salad. (not at all like the previous salad, well kinda but it involves no lettuce or meat. It ends up almost a salsa) I love summer for all the fresh meals and I always feel like eating a light dinner that settles really well instead of heavy comfort foods. My cooking buddy is my sister Raili and I can't wait to see all the good things we try this summer.

Repercussions of survival mode are now coming into play. This may sound strange but I think Maya MISSES having a sickly preggo mommy. Because that meant T.V. all day and all the cheap kid food crap she could ever wish for, and really- she never got in trouble since that involved mommy getting off the couch. Now she throws tantrums in front of the t.v. because she can't understand why it isn't on all the time anymore, wont eat her veggies because good heavens....didn't have to do that for a few months, and finally she has a mommy who is actually disciplining her. Yes, time out is a big reality now and she hates every minute of it. But I am happy to feel like there is a sense of control in my life again and I am loving it.