The Memory, And Bulk (in words) Of An Elephant, or a Project and Day 5

A couple of years ago I was wandering through our JoAnn, which basically means I stood in the doorway and looked along all 9 square feet of floor space.  I noticed what I thought were the most perfect Easter baskets.  Not floppy, big enough for a box of peeps, ribbon and even a fabric liner to class it up.  The only problem was I was pregnant with #3 and didn't know if it was a boy or a girl yet.

I got a blue one for Ethan, a pink one for Ella and yellow, which I assumed, wrongly, would be good no matter if it was a boy or a girl.  Since I thought it was a boy I was doubley sure it would be fine.  Livi came along, and for 3 years it was fine.  Last year she noticed that Ethan had a favorite color, Ella had a favorite color, and she had YELLOW.  Nuclear blow out occured, and I promised that the next year (this year) we would paint it purple.  Who would have guessed a 3 year old had the memory of an elephant? 5 days before Easter she reminded me of that promise.

My first attempt at painting.  Ever tried to paint wicker with acrylic paint? I soon went out and bought spray paint.

Ahhhhh, much better.

Since I am my father's daughter I couldn't stop there.  I undid the lining to make a pattern, let Livi pick out some fabric and made a new one.

Voila

The finished product.

Everyone is happy...for now...until the next catastrophe.

Onto Day 5: What are the 5 things that make you happiest right now?

1.My husband, kids, parents, siblings, etc.  They are what makes my life worth living. 

The rest of these I am going to go with the things that make me happy in the moment. The fleeting happiness, rather than true joy.  Because I can.  Because I can show a funny videos and great pair of shoes.

2. Shoes...shocker.  I have found that I don't feel totally dressed up without a great pair of shoes.  For years I tried only to find the flattest shoes I possibly could, sometimes wearing ballet slippers to church dances, just so I wouldn't tower over the boys.  Eric and other tall boys were too busy dating 5'1' tiny blonds, so I was stuck with the 5'11' boys who were shorter than me if we stood on an incline.  When I started dating Eric I bought my first pair of heels.  I still have them because they symbolize so much to me.  I was still pretty close in height to Eric wearing them, but he helped me gain the confidence I needed to not care.  I have since let this freedom get a little too free, but nothing feels better when I am getting dressed than a great pair of shoes.

I know, right? These are my latest "bankruptcy shoes".  Not because they cost a ton and we will go into bankruptcy.  I do all the bankruptcies for Eric and after doing 5 I bought myself this awesome pair of shoes!

3.Seeing in my Hulu queue a new episode of favorite shows.  I love it when there is New Girl, Community, Parks and Rec, but mostly Supernatural.  Is it dumb that a 32 year old likes a show based on monsters and cute boys, on the teen channel? No, no it is not.

4. Snow.  Two weeks ago we had a great snow storm.  The kind where the lights flicker, a fire in the fireplace is a must, and the kids get two days off from school.  It is almost magic to wake up, see the snow all over, and have the kids happy to be home.  Well, the first day was magic.  By the end of day 2 I was ready for them to get back to their "important educations".
We don't have hills in Nebraska, so this is about as much sledding as they will ever get!

5. The silly things Tonks does.  When Eric said he thought getting a dog might be a good therapy for me he was right (although maybe I said that, because it certainly was brilliant).  I cannot NOT smile when I look at her.  She is just so loving, small, fluffy, and kind of silly.

She likes to sit like she is people.