Curse my uber strong genes for poor eyesight.

Not that Haven minds at all.

She was so excited to find out that she needs to wear glasses,

and had no problem picking out this super cute purple pair.

Pretty AND smart.

Why do I love tax return time?

Because it enabled us to go from this…

 to this…

Yay! Gone is the huge tippy tv Mathes broke, gone is the huge armoire that took up an entire corner of the room, and gone is the teeny tiny 13-inch tv that we were forced to use in the iterim that was really only good for squinting mightily at whilst you tried to decipher the tiny images on the miniscule screen.

Suddenly, everyone actually wants to have family movie night.

I really love tax return time.

An added bonus…I have an April birthday, and we always seem to have tax return money around then for some happy birthday fun.

So convenient.

Poor Craig is cursing his terribly inconvenient September birthday.

It’s been a hard, sad time for us this last little while and I have been avoiding posting for a little bit. About a month and a half ago we found out that I was pregnant, and we were so excited knowing that we were going to add another sweet baby to our family. I was all set to post a fun little blurb featuring an ultrasound picture of our new baby on the way, and we could share our happy news and a due date with everyone. I wish this was that kind of post. Sadly it’s not. I ended up having a miscarriage earlier this month and I lost the baby. It was such a terrible blow, I felt so unprepared for that kind of loss. Not that anyone is ever prepared for something like that, but it just felt so unreal, so impossible. How could this happen? And why? It was such a sweet surprise to find out I was pregnant, and to have it taken away without any warning was heartbreaking. Not that there is an answer that will make it any better. At least not that I know of. And while I feel I am over the worst of it, I still have my bad moments, but every day is easier than the one before and I am better all of the time, especially when I keep myself busy doing something. I struggled with whether or not to post about this, it feels so personal and yet so huge to me, but in the end this isn’t a secret, many of you already know. The core of this post is really a message of my deepest heartfelt thanks. Through all of this, I am ever more appreciative and thankful for my family and loved ones, and the incredible kindness, support, and love they have showered upon us without hesitation. Whether with sweet understanding words, or by selfless deeds, so many of you have been so kind and shown such love for us during this time. I love and appreciate each and every one of you, and hope that you know just how appreciated and loved you are.  Just when I felt a huge emptiness in my heart with the loss of our baby, you came along with your kind hearts and began to fill it back up again, and for this I am forever grateful and indebted to you. And thank you for making our Easter Sunday a happy one. I was thrilled to be able to have a happy day amidst all of this, to see my children having so much fun with all of their cute cousins, to have all of you here with us in our home for a fun filled day, and to lose ourselves in the fun of family. It was just what we needed. I didn’t want to spend that day feeling sorry for myself and mourning our loss, I just wanted to focus on something good and happy in my life, to be with those that I love, and that love me. I got my wish. Sunday was a wonderful day. Again, thank you from the bottom of my heart.

(comments have been disabled for this post)

Another blog I frequent, ‘Sew Mama Sew’ (duh, of course I love it, it has the word “sew” in the title) had a great post chock full of fun ideas featuring awesome Easter crafty goodness, and I thought this was definitely worth sharing.

 I loved how easy and cute these fabric covered eggs are. Modge Podge, fabric, plastic eggs, and voila! Easy Easter cuteness you and your kids can make together.

 Oh the bunny cuteness! These would be so fun to make and how excited would a little one be to find this peeking out from their Easter basket.

Such a fun little pink tote. I even have a pink wool sweater I could felt to make this…

 And cute fabric eggs with a hidden pocket for goodies. How fun would these be to hunt in the yard. Or embellish a special one for each child that they can search for especially each year.

I will be happy if I can manage to find the time to attempt even one of these great little projects.

Any of you have any fun plans for Easter crafts?

On another blog I love to frequent, this Etsy seller ‘Dream Child Studio’ was featured. All it took was one look and I instantly fell in love with all of the sweet, and imaginative items she has for sale.

I can see my girls playing with these for hours…I would have to make them their own little house to dwell in for sure (and an cute tutorial to make an adorable little house that would be the perfect shelter for these little gnomes is featured on the ‘Craft Crow’).

And the acorn hat on this little Waldorf inspired guy is killing me. I want one for myself. How cute is his hair sticking out from under his little nutcap?

And these little ‘Nutcap Babies’…oh so cute! My kids love little things like these to play with, both my girls and boys alike.

 And the crowns…seriously, my girls would eat, sleep and live in this.

And her pinecone weaving kit, perfect to start your youngest artist out with. I love how simple this is.  I have to get his.

 I think ‘Dream Child Studio’ has acquired a new rabid fan….me.

No, I don’t have any fun April Fool’s Joke today, or any great goofs, or gags, or funny stories to share, or anything of the humorous variety. Not that things aren’t funny around here, I mean life with seven monkey kidlets is always funny. Well, except when the toilet is overflowing or someone is bleeding profusely, as I find nothing humorous about sewage flowing onto my floors or anything to do with my children’s blood ending up on the outside of their bodies. But most days things are pretty funny, and most of the time it can be hard to even keep a straight face.

And if your feeling badly that I’m neglecting to entertain you properly, don’t. I also don’t have anything silly planned for my kidlets today either. I’m getting the “Boring & Forgetful Mom” award tomorrow afternoon. I have three of them already, so the luster of winning has long ago worn off. The boring part of my award is because I have nothing planned. And the forgetful is because I have nothing planned because I completely forgot that today was April Fools. Oops. No fun here. Oh well, another black mark to be struck onto the pages in my book of “Good Mothering”.

So there is no fun, funny or silly post. I’m sorry for the lack of entertainment. But given what day it is, anything I said on here today would be met with suspicion, and rightly so. But tomorrow? Now that’s an entirely different story. Definitely. So I will wait until it’s not a day of pranks and jokes for that stuff. Today I am just wishing everyone else a happy day, and if you hear of any great practical jokes, then please make sure and share the funny with the rest of us.

And until then….I piddy tha po’ foo!