Owl Post

around the house...

2012-01-26T12:17:00.000-08:00

i did a couple of quick little projects with leftover spray paint...
i found this little random house shaped wire tray at DI ($.75) one day, it started as this dusty blue color (there's the Krylon Bahama Sea paint)

avery saw me painting it outside and she said, "you're painting it the same color mom!" well, it's brighter i think:) i love it...eventually i want to have little hearts for each of our family members in the house..appropriate for valentine's day...or anytime

the same day i was at DI i found this little fishy ($3)...i think it was once used as a vase but he's just pretty

and apparently i have an affection for white vase-like things...most of these are milk glass..i'm always on the lookout..so the fishy fits right in...in the living room:) hey, there's kendall and me on our wedding day....awwww.....

we just had craft day at my house Tuesday day, Tuesday night and Wednesday day...a couple of things i made...this vinyl was a groopdealz i ordered for those that wanted it....here's the other leftover spray paint on the frame (dark gray, from Ethan's Dresser)

here's a wreath i did that i big time love...inspiration here (we made our own frames for it, by cutting moving boxes into a heart and gluing two thicknesses together so it would be strong. worked REALLY well...it's a lot of ribbon, i used parts of 7 spools of ribbon...i did 4 inch loops, and i had about 120-130 loops, which is about 13 yards, if anyone is counting!)

i especially love the glitter ribbons..you can't seem them very well in any of the pics, but they are super cute:)

that's what going on around our house lately...

today is Christian's Birthday...

2012-01-18T07:43:00.000-08:00

today is Christian's 5 month birthday. i thought i'd write a letter to him...

Dearest Christian,

As I sit here writing this, your brothers and sister are listening to music and having a dance party in the living room. And my heart feels heavy as I think of you and how I won't be able to watch you do the same. I miss you every day, sweet boy, with every heartbeat. This grief that I feel is large, big, sometimes I wish I could just hide under my blankets or close the door and not face the day. But I can't, I have three other small people here who need a mother. And that is wonderful, because being up and caring for them has helped me not be reclusive, they are showing me how to heal. I am just slower than they are at it. We love you Christian, we say goodnight to you every night, you are in every prayer...Avery asked me the other day why you had to leave us. And we both cried as we talked about it...again. Sometimes I feel like asking the same question, but for Ethan, Avery and Blake I have to be strong, the one with the answers. These are some things I know, since you have left us...Heavenly Father knows us. He knows our strengths and weaknesses very personally. This situation was not something I ever dreamed of having to handle. But somehow, with lots of prayer, I am able to get through the days. I know that you didn't come to our family so briefly to break us, or make us fall apart, but to bring us together. You have done that for us Christian, for a lot of members of our family and friends, helped us realize how precious, sweet and brief life can be. I worry sometimes that as I heal, I will forget the way you were learning to smile, the way you smelled, the courage and love that you showed us. But then I look at your pictures, I remember how much your siblings love you and doted on you while you were here, how everyone felt your large spirit, and I know I won't forget. This is hard, baby, but we can be together again. I look forward to that day very much. But I won't wish away the time I have here...you taught us that.

We love you and we miss you. Please know that. You are very much a part of our day, as I give three baths, and think of the fourth, or feed three children and think of you...take three children to the park and count them...and know in my heart that there are four. On the 11th (the anniversary of the day you left us) we were at a store and a lady was in front of us. She turned around and watched your brothers and sister, talking, laughing--being cute, and she smiled and said,"they are so cute, they remind me of my family growing up. My mom had four little ones...you are just missing one." I smiled and walked away, and said under my breath, "yes, we are missing one."

Thank you for being part of our family Christian. We love you to the moon and back...forever.

love,
mom, dad, and your crazy wonderful siblings

Books Books Books...

2012-01-12T20:17:00.000-08:00

usually i put things on reserve at the library and then go in and pick it up once they have put it on the special reserve shelf for me, so i don't have to hunt through the library with my three rambunctious-i-think-i-know-how-to-whisper-but-not-really-as-i-run-up-and-down-the-aisles children. lately they have wanted to have their own library cards, so we got one for E and A for two libraries that are near us. they are thrilled. B is not too upset he doesn't get one yet (since he's only 2) so for now we are good:) i made them little felt wallets to help them keep track of the cards, since as the lady at one of the libraries informed me, "it's $5 to replace a lost card"...i'm guessing we are not the first people that will probably lose a card:) but in an effort to help them keep track of their cards, i made little wallets with a tutorial from Craftiness is Not Optional and it was simple to do, so if you have need of a library card, or any other card holder, that is a good tutorial.but really i am writing this post for another reason...just to ponder the weirdness of the library reserve system. so i put things on reserve and it seems like they come to me all at the same time. does this happen to anyone else? i wish there was an option to delay my hold for a week or something but still have it come to me in the near future...does that even make sense? like, skip me and then keep me on the list as next after the person after reads it...because right now i have from the library

recommended by alacey...should be good

2nd in a series that we are reading on going

i have waited for this book for a LOOOOONG time from the library

and this was a recommendation from my sister...i just finished reading the Scarlet Pimpernel by Baroness Orczy...this is along the same lines...so i have all these books and of course Crossed and Hangman's Daughter can't be renewed so i need to read them first if i am going to...so...i should get on that huh?are you reading anything great? do you have the same "books on reserve" issue that i do???? it's just kind of amazing how they all come at once....kismet i guess

sleep eating...

2012-01-10T09:04:00.001-08:00

click in the bottom right hand corner of the youtube frame to make it big, then you can see his nodding off in greater detail:)

Resolutions?

2012-01-09T20:51:00.001-08:00

Strictly speaking I don't really make resolutions. I definitely have things I want to do better and things I need to improve on.... So maybe it's more goal setting for me. Some of my goals are: 1) to exercise 5 or 6 days out of 7. Really make it a habit. So far, so good. I have an elliptical upstairs ( thanks inlaws for that) so I have been doing that. Goal 2) do scripture study everyday. Another habit I need to be better at. Even if I am tired, even if I didn't do anything else, I want to do this. Very important to me. So far, so good on that as well:). Goal 3) purge the house. This one was an unconscious one. I just had in my mind that I needed to do some organizing and it would be good to have things to take to my ward's "no sale garage sale".... Well... We have never generated so much trash/ recycling in one week! Amazing! We have moved 8 times in our 9 years of marriage (celebrated that over Christmas break as well) and so I am used to cleaning out when we move. But this is the longest we've been in one house ( we like it a lot!) but the purging needed to happen! I am making my way through every toy closet/basket, every cupboard/drawer/locker/and bookshelf. Very happy about it! The whole house is feeling lighter:) so really the first 9 days of 2012 have been going pretty well. (really all the cleaning and organizing is to keep me busy to enable my brain to think of something else for a bit...coping mechanism I guess) but for now it works.Do you resolve or make goals? Got any good ones?(ps-I wrote this from my phone.... Not sure if I like that yet or not)

relections on Christmas and New Year...

2012-01-04T11:41:00.000-08:00

Bless Blogger for actually putting them in the order that i uploaded them in...but it's reverse order, so follow along if you like...

seriously...i see our future, and she's beautiful and sassy...as a 4 year and as a 14 year old i am sure!

playing at del taco...we did this on the way to UT and the way home (for lunch)

it never snowed in Sandy while we were there (thank heavens!) so kendall took the kiddos (along with Uncle Gabriel and their oldest two) to Big Cottonwood Canyon to find some snow. they had a ball.

Christmas Morning...blake got candy! yahoo! he has the mail bag i made for them strung over his shoulder...more on that later. inspiration for it here

marble run that blake got for Christmas but they all love. we got it here

everyone got new umbrellas...they love to pretend it's raining:)

porthole window in the table tent, one on each short end

front of the tent...we'll get better pics later huh? it's got a half circle window on your right with address (1227 Wilson Way) freezer paper stenciled on it, and you can see blake with the mail bag on delivering mail, because the tent also has a mail slot:)

back of the tent, three windows

b man got a sleeping bag for Christmas so he and avery had a little "sleepover" christmas morning

ethan got some serious artillery and dad was helping in that endeavor

all suited up...it even has a laser light on it for aiming...yikes!

trying to get pictures in their pjs Christmas Eve ( i made the pants and appliqued Avery's shirt)

and we're moving...

at least they are all looking at the camera, sort of!

acting out the Christmas story..blake was joseph this year, avery is always mary, and ethan was a shepherd again. various stuffed animals are the sheep.

i made a lot of these little guys for ethan's classmates and various other gifts we gave (with popcorn sized versions as well) they are fun and cute! (candy bar wrappers)

so that's our Christmas/Trip in reverse:) we had a great time. i've taken all the Christmas decorations down now and i always think of the Forgotten Carols song "I cry the day that i take the tree down" and i did get a little teary...i just love the lights and the decorations and the feeling of Christmas. i am also sad that 2011 has passed, the year that Christian came into our family, and the year he passed out of it. Everyday is still hard...doing things with three children is easy for me now...but i constantly feel the baby i am not holding, the diapers i am not changing and the smiles and baby sounds i am not seeing. I am determined to heal...albeit slowly i am sure. I am just in process:) I must remind myself daily that time is what is really going to be the great equalizer. i hope all of you had a great first of the year!!!

hope yours was merry and happy...

2012-01-01T19:00:00.000-08:00

we left the day after Christmas to go to UT...driving and it actually went really well. i was surprised how well the kids did...i guess they are growing up huh? we had a great time with my family (thank you family for being with us and helping and for everything!). we drove home today (again the kids did so well!) and are trying to unpack/put away Christmas presents etc.

i feel a big excitement about cleaning out drawers/closets/toys/clothes and starting fresh with this new year...i hope that enthusiasm lasts. a couple friends in our ward are putting on a "no sale garage sale" where you can bring your gently used things and it's like a big trade! i am excited for that, because there are definitely things i'd like to have less of!

i'll have pictures in the next post (although i didn't take a ton...too busy participating in the fun and togetherness) but i hope your Christmas was Merry and your New Year was Happy!

our latest in pictures...

2011-12-21T11:26:00.000-08:00

Honest to goodness, this was at MY dry cleaners! do you think it was staged or does the REAL santa actually go to MY dry cleaners? awesome! (audrey...it's delia's, you go there too right?)

trying to get some shopping done at Ross...blake decided UNDER the cart was the best place to be during our extremely LOOOOONG wait in the REEEEEEALY long line...

at Fry's...they love the car carts...

they also LOOOOOOVE their daddy and everyone wants a piggy back ride from him when it's time for bed...

went over to a friend's house for dinner and i made cupcakes...i've never seen anyone this age get THAT messy with frosting! it's awesome!

hope your run up to Christmas is great and stress free. sending lots of love out to you all....

To Do: To Make: To Bake

2011-12-13T12:51:00.000-08:00

so my To Do list, like many of yours is getting longer by the day...and WHAT do i get for Christmas for my parents who already have everything? sheesh! just a good thing i don't have to mail it this year or it would be woefully late...whatever it ends up being....this fabric is destined for the table tent for my kids for Christmas...good thing only ethan can read and i don't let him read my blog on a regular basis:) it's cloudy today but you get the picture...

i am excited to get it cut out and sewed up! along with *ahem* a few other things:) the problem is my energy runs out by nighttime but that's the best time for me to sew uninterrupted...we might just have to go for interrupted this year and see if i can get it done! covertly of course:)i see banana bread in my future and in the future of some people on my "to give" list...i have WAY too many bananas in the freezer...also frozen cranberries...so maybe some cranberry orange bread too! yahoo!and yay for rain today and yesterday! i really love the rain, i'm from WA state, so you know..."it rains 9 months out of the year in Seattle! i know! i do NOT want to move to Seattle!" name that movie!

hi friends...

2011-12-12T12:43:00.000-08:00

whew....

times are busy and i still want time to just stop some days. yesterday was 2 months since Christian passed away. There. i said it. i actually noticed the other day that i avoid saying the actual words...so i am trying to at least think or write them. it's true. it's a fact.

acceptance is the hardest part. i totally don't want to be a downer, but i just want to say that this is hard. the hardest thing i have ever done. ever. the time when we had Christian with us seems like a completely other life. i don't know how my brain manages to do this, but the feeling is pretty interesting. like the time has passed super fast and it was years ago...but at the same time, minutes ago. does that make any sense? probably not.

grief is interesting. i have read several people's blogs that have lost children recently (how do i keep finding these people?) and the stages of grief that we are experiencing are much the same. i know it's a documented fact that grief has stages and you need to hit most of them to fully have closure or whatever, but it is interesting in actual practice to see it played out.

but we keep going. ethan has strep throat, pray that no one else gets it! yikes! but we got him some antibiotics today and i have every thought that he'll be able to go to school tomorrow.

yesterday some sweet friends brought us this precious little tree...

it has a "C" pin on the top, with pictures of him in the ornaments, it's so sweet and i love it. i can't believe (but i can because we are blessed with wonderful people around us) how much people are loving our family and being so kind to us. i feel so blessed and really, the prayers and love are making it so i can function and take care of my family. thank you all.

GroopDealz Today

2011-12-08T11:48:00.001-08:00

if you feel so inclined, GroopDealz today is for a digital file of an awesome quote but every bit of the money spent goes to this sweet family who had a very premature baby that passed away in November. my heart goes out to them so much.

oh yes, we did....{with edits!!}

2011-12-07T11:25:00.001-08:00

{the edits are...links to wreath tutorials, some commentary on my wreath making experience and a picture of the bunting i said i was making at the end}

i saw this idea online and decided to try it! since we still had two pumpkins on our front porch:) we painted them with acrylic paint, and i am sure it would be smoother and without orange peeking through if i used spray paint, but i am really trying to not buy extra stuff, especially for "just for fun" crafts. the kids loved helping with it and i like our little snowgirl's bows:) they don't have scarves yet...we'll have to see what we have in that department...

best white elephant gift EVER! thanks jamie!

another craft i've wanted to try for a while, i love the yarn ball wreaths and i like how this turned out:) this is another instance of using what we had on hand...the balls are actually glitter ornaments i bought last year that i didn't really like this year, and i also made some balls out of stiff magazine pages...if you want to make your own there are tutorials all over the place...one here, here (with ornaments...very pretty colors), and here are some. i think my wreath would have been a little easier had i used a flat piece of cardboard for the back or a flat wreath form...i used a rounded wreath form and it was harder to get the balls so stay.

Here is a picture of the bunting that i finished this afternoon for my bench...very festive huh?

spice rack....

2011-12-03T11:12:00.001-08:00

could be an ornament display...

or a toy garage...

but really it's going to help contain this mess on my sewing table...

like this! (remember it used to look like this scroll down to see the picture again) the yellow dowels are for my bobbins to sit on...(although right now the dowels are too big around for my bobbins...i measured at the fabric store but i guess the bobbins i measured with were not the same size as mine...oh well...it's still pretty:)

and blake and avery found new uses for the laundry hampers yesterday...looks fun to me!

comedy of errors...

2011-12-02T20:00:00.001-08:00

the first part of today went well, i put food in the crockpot (for these pulled pork sandwiches! so good) and i took the kids to the park, went to a primary presidency meeting (that's right...i'm the assistant secretary now:), got ethan to school and B and A down for naps....

then ethan came home and wanted hot chocolate...then avery and blake woke up and wanted hot chocolate, which is totally fine...then we had to go through the stirring and cooling off and blowing on and then i turned away and blake spilled his (mostly) full mug of hot chocolate all over himself, the chair, and the floor (that i just cleaned yesterday). i am just thankful we had cooled it sufficiently and he wasn't burned! but that was a huge mess...then i declared to kendall on the phone (with blake running around with no pants and just a diaper) while i was mopping up hot chocolate from the chair and table and floor, that i NEED a new table and chairs because these don't clean well and they are always looking dirty and scruffy and i don't like them!!! (i've felt this way about the chairs for a long time...i'll amend on the table if we can't find a bigger round one...)

so then i get everyone cleaned up, reclothed and shoes on so we can go to Joann's (which i've been trying to do for two days but never seem to get there) so i can finish the spice rack turned...you thought i was going to tell you! gotcha! anyway, that's always a hectic trip because choosing what i need there actually requires mental attention but then avery has to pee, blake is running toward the thread pell mell or else, trying to fling his leg over the side of the cart to escape that way...then ethan starts running circles around us, then avery joins in and pretty soon all three are doing a circuit around me while i'm trying to decide which dowel size i need and if the 50% off remnant of fleece is big enough for the secret-for-christmas-blankets i want to make the kids....we get out of Joann's in one piece (barely, but not without a stern talking to the children by me and one older couple commenting on all the "help i have with my cart" aka three kids trying to steer it in different ways than the way i want to go).

go home to shred the pork for the deliciousness i have been looking forward to ALL.DAY.LONG and lo and behold, when i turned it to "low" around naptime...i actually turned it OFF! are you kidding me????? add on the fact that kendall went out to Chandler on his way home to get a super-secret-present with training wheels for avery and the PEOPLE WEREN'T HOME...imagine i'm not doing too well in my mental state. then i heard blake banging something on the counter and i went over to have a look...it's my CAMERA! and then he got down and about 2 minutes later, grabbed a KNIFE off the counter...then 2 minutes after that ran into a wall and hurt himself. sheesh man...give me a minute! i have the kids clean up toys...and kendall gets home while i had taken a moment to read to the kids because i was so frustrated with dinner i didn't want to make anything yet...(it's getting close to 7pm)...blake's practically crying for food and so i make breakfast burritos (which were tasty but not pulled pork)....and we get the kids in bed.

the people emailed after that about the super-secret-with training wheels present...kendall goes back to get it (saintly person) and the pulled pork is on "high" again in the crockpot for tomorrow...sheesh, i need a nap!

but i wouldn't trade it for the world.

binky...

2011-11-29T12:58:00.001-08:00

binky, pacifier, plug, paci, nuk, soothie, mam, whatever... we love them at our house and we are pro-pacifier. but we have been telling the 2 year old that when he loses his two remaining binkies, then mommy and daddy are not going to buy him any more. because when you are two, you don't get new ones in this house...avery actually got to that point and then used a mini-mam she still had for a while. now that was funny! but blake had these two magic pacifiers that never coexisted...i was almost convinced they were one and the same (except one was white and one was blue) because we never had both of them together! we had the blue one and not the white one and then vice versa almost every day! so on Friday 18th he had one of them (the blue one i think) and i went to go see the movie with friends ( so fun! but too much blood and skin for me guys...sorry!). my beautiful and wonderful neighbor had my kids while i went to the theater early before kendall got home. when i came home, i was told B-man came back without his binky...and he went to bed without his binky. i didn't ask my neighbor if she knew where it was because once you put him to bed without it and start that jazz you can't go back! so he's been binky-less since the 18th and really folks, he's done a great job. he has been a little louder, especially in church, and he cries a little more frequently but he's acclimating well and learning. he also talks to himself at nap time...pretty hilarious. sometimes i have to go back in (which i don't like to do but seems to work for now) and tell him that he needs to go to sleep and stop talking and tell him another little story....just while he's laying there, i don't pick him up or anything. he's been doing really well. i'm proud of him. blake is definitely SO much more laid back then either E or A were as smaller kids. i am so thankful for all our children, but Blake especially was what i needed after a cranky Avery baby, what i needed as an easy-going kid when Christian was born and is such a comfort to me now. Ethan and Avery are very comforting as well, but there's something about such a tender soul as Blake who still wants me to hold him and love on him...i appreciate that.

so there's a milestone passed in our house!

Ethan was determined that we should put up our Christmas tree on sat. 26th and so we did! and then i just got out all the Christmas stuff and put it all up! it was fun and i love having the house decorated for Christmas! it's so festive and i love the twinkle lights and just thinking about this season. I really do love Christmas. i am trying to plan ahead sufficiently so that, as we get closer to the actual Christmas day, i don't have too much of an opportunity to stress. we'll see how it goes:)

i went to Savers and Goodwill yesterday...it's that time of year where everyone needs pants/long sleeves/socks (not that i buy socks at Goodwill or Savers)...avery especially had about one pair of pants i think that fit her growing length...so i was able to get her three pairs of pants and three long sleeve shirts for about $16! that's pretty good huh? so excited! and i got this little beauty...any guesses as to what it'll end up being? i'll give you a hint...not a spice rack:)

i saw an idea online here to decorate a soap dispenser with stickers...at our house we love window clings...the kids really like to decorate our sliding door with them at any opportunity/holiday, so i tried it out with window clings on a hand sanitizer bottle and it worked well! best part is it is so changeable for when christmas is over!!

2011-11-24T09:42:00.001-08:00

happy thanksgiving to you all! i hope you have a great day of family, turkey and pie:) we have so much to be grateful for this year, and every year...i am so grateful for my family, especially kendall who is always very supportive, loving and generous but who has been so understanding and loving during this ridiculously difficult time for our family. especially for me. i hope that i am as understanding when he has bad days. i am thankful for our children, all four of them. i am thankful that ethan, avery and blake are healthy and i am thankful that we had 7 weeks to be with our sweet christian. i wouldn't trade our time with him, it was precious and beautiful. i am grateful for the wonderful family and friends around us who have supported us and continue to support us as we heal and grow. i am thankful for the Gospel of Jesus Christ, without this knowledge i would be lost and afraid...but with it i have peace and am finding joy again.have a happy thanksgiving day. hold your people close and tell them you love them. there's no time like today.

thanksgiving decorations...

2011-11-17T09:58:00.001-08:00

here are some of our thanksgiving decorations...we haven't had many heretofore and i am glad to celebrate this, sometimes, overlooked wonderful holiday!

had the quote in tan printed at costco, it was a printable i found here

on top of our TV cabinet: don't look too closely at the print in the frame...i downloaded it onto the computer last year...and this year thanksgiving is on the 24th, not the 25th but oh well:)

this frame holds a collage that my beautiful sister in law made for us one year, but for our thankful sign, i turned it over and embellished the brown "filler" in the frame. we wrote on the glass with a dry erase marker.

my black "entry" table, the printable in the frame is from eighteen25

my shelf in the kitchen...two milk glass vases on either end, turned over to be pedestals....all the (fake) fall leaves were in a flower arrangement that we received, and i took them out and spread them around the house. love the tiny (real) pumpkins

here's a close up of my cute turkey...instructions here i just love this turkey...don't know why i am so taken with him:) i think i want to put another feather behind the first one on his head...for more color and just to be bigger!

i still have one more thing i have materials to make...it's this banner..just need to cut it out..maybe tonight!

Sedona!

2011-11-16T14:12:00.001-08:00

kendall and i were able to have a little weekend getaway to Sedona over Veteran's Day weekend. His parents kept the kids, bless them! Sedona is so beautiful with the red rock and green trees. the weather is cooler than here and it even rained on Sunday, which i loved too:) we went on a jeep tour, we went to Jerome, which is a fun little hippy town up on a mountain side, we bought some really good $4 fudge, ate at some really great restaurants (yes michelle, we found the 101 omlette place!) and we just had a really nice time being together. now for some pretty pictures....

in the jeep tour office we found the "8 legged gerbil" as they call her, Rosy the Rose Tarantula

Also in their office, it's an albino something or other snake i can't remember...

pretty rocks

Chapel of the Holy Cross, from one side....

other side of Chapel of the Holy Cross

so pretty out there...

to prove we both were there:)

there were rain clouds rolling in and it was sunset...gorgeous

more sunset shots...

it was a really great trip and the kids had a great time with nana, papa and tia, thank you all so much!

halloween and birthday recap...

2011-11-03T12:46:00.000-07:00

here's our little batman!

and joker and cat woman!!!

a really nice man in our ward made this cake for blake...halloween day i decided it needed a makeover to fit with our halloweeny birthday party...

meet Jack the cake:)

blowing out candles with Nana Kay and Papa Jerry on Skype (we missed you!)

opening presents! what a blessed little kid! he is so loved...as are all of our children. we have such great family!

and friends! someone left this basket of goodies on our doorstep the day before halloween, no name as to who gave it, so if you did, THANK YOU!!! the kids LOVED the coloring things, and the felt faces for the pumpkins were a HUGE hit...so thoughtful. people are so kind to us. thank you so much!!!

my halloween baby....2 years old!

2011-10-31T13:30:00.000-07:00

Born at 3:15pm on Oct. 31, 2009

my easiest delivery to date

and a very mellow kid (going home from the hospital)

first birthday

"my name is Blake, i fall asleep in random places because i am a third child"

Power Ranger Blake

when we went and found snow last year

he loves his sister's shoes...

and large gift bags...

hard to believe that you were this small once...you have been such a light and joy in our lives little man. we love you so much. you make us smile everyday, many times. we are so happy you are in our family, we love you so much. we all wish you a happy halloween birthday!!!!

Kidney Stone

2011-10-29T11:38:00.001-07:00

watch the video, it's funny and i like Friends...yep that's right, i had a kidney stone! ouch mama! i tell you that was the worse pain i've ever had without an epidural! NO FUN! i woke up at 5 on friday morning, with pain, not too bad, thought i had to use the potty, so i did, then i drank a whole bunch of water because i know i haven't been drinking enough lately, and i was hoping that would help...by about 5:30 or so i was in a lot of pain and by 6 or so we were on the way to the hospital, because i was writhing around on the floor...and it always take a long time at the ER....we got back quickly but then it took a while for them to see us, and get a doctor in there and get some medicine and go have a CAT scan...so diagnosis was 3mm kidney stone...and they gave me prescriptions for percoset, phinegrin, and flomax, with strict instructions to DRINK a lot and flush that stone out. not a good day, i have to tell you, i felt so SICK! and when the medicine wore off and i needed more, forget it! very much pain...but Friday night a friend took E and A to our ward Trunk or Treat and Blake stayed with Kendall and me, and i finally passed the stone (TMI?) and i couldn't believe how much better i felt! still felt slightly sick and dizzy but 800% better really. this morning i felt good, once i got moving around, i found that i am having some headaches and i am a little sore so i'll rest and hopefully tomorrow will be even better.

MORAL of this story: make sure you take care of yourself and DRINK a lot!

how are you doing?

2011-10-25T00:59:00.000-07:00

this is a question we hear a lot these days...how are you doing?

how do i answer that?

i have felt so much love and concern and friendship from so many people. my siblings all came in for the funeral, my mom and dad stayed far longer than they thought they would, a friend volunteered her house for my siblings and their children to stay in, my children have never received so many gifts of clothing and shoes... our ward family has rallied around us and made meals, they are taking turns spending time with us during the day, family and friends have sent us money to help us pay for expenses from the funeral and hospital bills, i have received beautiful gifts to help me remember Christian...my children have received gifts from friends to help them feel loved and special.....and countless people have been and are praying for our family.

i have never felt so much love in my life. it is amazing. i wish the circumstances were different. i wish that my baby was here with me so i could hold him and love him and take care of him. but i know where he is, i know he is safe, and well and he does not hurt. i know he is with our Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ. and that our family can be together again some day. i cannot imagine going through this most difficult time in my life without knowing that those things are true. if you want to learn more about these truths you can go here or here or ask me:)

so in answer to the question, "are you okay?"...

we are okay. we are doing the best we can. do i cry a lot still? everyday. do i laugh and play with my children? everyday. do i think about christian? every hour of everyday. this is going to take time. i know that. i am embracing that. my family has all gone home (i am so grateful for you guys), kendall stayed home today with us to spend time with just us. he goes to work tomorrow and the kids and i will spend some time with wonderful people in our ward who want to care for us right now. we are so blessed. we are so blessed to have kendall's family close by as well. we are as okay as anyone would be considering our circumstances.

in the sacrament meeting that was the Sunday after Christian's funeral, a man in our ward spoke and referenced his sister's blog and how she wrote something very poignant about the Provo Tabernacle and how it will be turned into a temple...both Kendall and I were touched by what she said...(to read the entire blog post, go here)

"without devastation or change or difficulty, we could just sail along the same way we always have. That Tabernacle could have gone on for decades yet to come as simply the beautiful Tabernacle it was. And so, in these times of re-evaluation, of creativity, of listening more intently, of being open to things that were never before even considered, we often find the greatest miracles. It is when we look at how to rebuild, that often the plans for rebuilding create something much more incredible than we started with. There are so many times when He who knows us perfectly sees what we have the power to become when we ourselves cannot see it and are happy to continue the way we are.

When life burns down a Tabernacle, God rebuilds a temple."

our hope is that we can come out of this devastation as stronger individuals and a stronger family.

(***this doesn't mean i want people to stop asking how i am, i don't, i love that you care and i will answer that question as many times as you want to ask it! )

candy corn cookies..

2011-10-21T14:11:00.001-07:00

they just look like candy corn...they taste like sugar cookies:) except for i just realized that i think i switched the yellow and orange layers in the candy corn cookies...ahhhh..well...you get the general idea. i saw this idea on our best bites yesterday and we just had to do it! wilton food coloring (or any gel food coloring i would assume) is what makes the colors so vibrant and pretty. it was a fun baking experience for my kids and their cousins..we did it together. then we made some orange dough for pumpkins:)

they are actually quite small and bite-sized and the cousins and my kids like them better then the big ones. it's a fun one, you should try it!here's my sugar cookie recipe if you don't have one you love, I LOVE this one i have been making them for years...is it weird when you can say that, that you've been doing something for YEARS and have it be true? i'm having a moment...anyway i think they are very tasty without frosting even! we make them anytime of year.

Best Sugar Cookies EVER!
1 C. sugar
1/2 C. shortening
2 eggs
1/3 C. milk
1 t. vanilla
1/2 t. salt
2 t. baking powder
3 C. flour

cream shortening, sugar and eggs. beat well until light yellow and creamy. blend in milk and vanilla. combine dry ingredients in another bowl, add to batter. stir gently. add additional flour so it's not sticky, to form a soft dough. roll out on floured surface 1/4 inch thick, cut into any shape! bake at 375 for 8-10 minutes. they should NOT be brown or anything like it on top, the bottoms should be golden, very light.

Accident Prone...

2011-10-18T16:49:00.000-07:00

Apparently Blake is having a rough few days. On Sunday my brother was trying to keep Blake away from reclaimed water sprinklers at the park and Blake did a "boneless" number while Nathan was holding onto his wrist and then his wrist was hurting him that day. (the next day he was perfectly fine Nathan, so stop feeling bad!) Then on Monday he managed, somehow, to bang his head at his grandma's pool, then today he was playing in the empty bathtub after the water had gone out, and i was getting a towel and he slipped and broke his tooth. (click on it to see it bigger)

we took him to the dentist (his first visit) and they didn't want to file it down or anything unless it's bothering him in the next 2 weeks because they don't want to weaken it further and it's a baby tooth (obviously) so he needs to keep it for another few years...stop now little man.on a different note, our family wants to send out a huge and heartfelt thank you to everyone who has been thinking of us and praying for us. we need it so much right now and we greatly appreciate the wonderful friends and family who are supporting us at this very difficult time. we love you all. we are doing ok.

Funeral Services...

2011-10-12T17:51:00.000-07:00

We will have funeral services for Christian this Saturday at the LDS church building at 1100 N. Cooper Rd. (on the corner of Cooper and Houston) in Gilbert, Arizona. We will have a viewing at 12:00, followed by a funeral service at 1:00. After the funeral we will have a brief gravesite service at the Mariposa Gardens cemetary in Mesa. Anyone who wants to attend the services to remember Christian is welcome to do so. Thank you all again for your love and prayers.

no words...

2011-10-11T14:01:00.000-07:00

Christian went in for his surgery today and he passed away during that operation.

We are deeply saddened by the loss of our baby.

We have no words right now but we know that his spirit is with his Heavenly Father.

Christian we love you so much.

crafts and other stuff...

2011-10-05T17:13:00.000-07:00

i have been putting together some craftiness for a group of ladies in my ward for about a year now...we just did our Halloween crafts and that marks 1 year that i have been doing it and it's so fun! these are some of the crafts we did this time...

these blocks turned out so cute, and the letters are a printable from Poppies at Play! so nice of her to make that available!

the block pumpkins i've just been seeing around and they turned out cute and are super quick...the spiders were a last year craft we did (find the tutorial for them here)

the inspiration for these guys came from here, but i made up all my pattern pieces for them etc.
those halloween goodies are helping us celebrate in style this year:) so fun. we all love halloween and it helps that Blake's birthday is Halloween too:)in other news...

we have another "sling baby" he likes the sling a lot. and i like to use it because it leaves my hands free. it's especially helpful at the grocery store! when he puts his hands like this he looks like a squirrel or something:) so cute!

(Translation: From Ethan To Sister Butler)

ethan is a writing and reading machine! and i love that he is sounding words out and writing what he hears, it's so fun to figure out what he's trying to say! i like this note a lot. he writes notes to everyone. we had some ladies over to do crafts a couple days this week and one of the days one of the kids (Crew, who is so sweet) konked Blake on the head with a car (there might have been some provocation there) and ethan wrote this note in response to that incident.
(Translation: Do not let Crew do that again. no no no! p.s. no)

the P.S. part is probably my favorite!

Blake is such a ham, he wants his picture taken anytime and this is generally what i get! so cute though. avery in her dollar store tiara...very pretty!

ethan had a "hilarious hat" day at school one day, so we made a hat with jokes on it...hey it was the best i could come up with! ahhhh...kindergarten. gotta love it!

more weight!!! more weight!!!!

2011-09-20T20:31:00.000-07:00

Christian just keeps making my day! Not like he and the other kids don't make my day all the time, but it's especially nice to know all the effort we are putting into fattening this kid up is working! yahoo!

we went to the doctor again today and he had gained 9oz!!!! so he's up to 7lbs. 11oz. and for anyone who is keeping track (me) that's 2oz. more than his birth weight! good job little guy! we meet with the surgeon on Thursday and have surgery scheduled for October 11th. Ethan and Avery LOVE to be in Christian's face, kissing him, hugging him...smelling him...all. the. time. constantly. the other day Ethan was doing his usual when he said, "Christian, a little bit, smells like throw up." that's what you get! and for the record, i don't think he did...but maybe that's just me:)Our beautiful, wonderful, talented sister in law cut the kids hair the other day, and sadly the buzzers ran out of juice and the cord we had to charge them was not the right one so we took this picture...what if we had left his hair that way??? hilarious! (click to see it big)

6 Oz.

2011-09-16T07:40:00.000-07:00

I've never been so happy for someone to gain weight! we went to the doctor yesterday, and Christian gained 6oz. since Monday! yahoooooo!!!! After going to the doctor so many times before and getting bad news, this was so AWESOME! I am excited for little man to keep gaining and we tentatively have his surgery scheduled for Oct. 11. It will be so good to get him all patched up and feeling better! Yay for 7lbs. 2oz!!!!!

we are home...

2011-09-11T17:12:00.000-07:00

yahoo! we are home from the hospital and have more information that when we started so that's good! Christian had gained 5 oz. when they weighed him on Saturday morning and so they let us leave on Saturday. It's good to be home! Christian has a sliding hiatal hernia...his stomach pushes up through the opening in his diaphragm where his esophagus goes through. pretty painful i think, his esophagus has all sorts of blistering on the inside. ouch! and of course he has really bad reflux as well. he's been so patient and really a trooper. i am so proud of how he is handling this.

(diagram of hernia)

so he'll have to have some surgery, however they want him to get back to his birth weight or a little above before they do it. we are looking forward to that in about 3-4 weeks. we'll meet with the surgeon in about two weeks hopefully. that surgery will be a 2-3 day stay when we do that. we really appreciate all the help and love and prayers being said in Christian's behalf and for our family! Thank you all so much. we will just continue pushing on and trying to get him fattened up:)

while we were at the hospital ASU played Missouri and the Missouri cheerleaders and their mascot came in and visited the kids on our floor (we were on a hemetology/oncology floor). that was fun and nice of them to do. i didn't get any pictures with the actual cheerleaders because i was holding Christian so they could see him...but they gave us a poster and a t-shirt.

some pictures of the little man in the hospital. he wasn't hooked up to too many things while we were there so that was nice!

he still throws up once or twice a day...but we are feeding him every two hours so i am hoping and it seems that he is keeping enough down. so that's good for now:) we will follow up with our pediatrician and have weight checks twice a week to make sure he's gaining before we see the surgeon....and that's a good thing. i am just so excited to get him feeling better. i know that must be so uncomfortable and all of us are really impressed with his ability to be so pleasant.

Update....

2011-09-09T09:50:00.000-07:00

Christian is in the hospital. he and i have been here since about midday on tuesday. he just wasn't doing well with losing weight etc. since we have been here we have found out he has some pretty impressive reflux and today they are going to do a scope of his stomach and esophogus to check out some other potential issues. we are feeding him every two hours, alternating between higher calorie formula and fortified mama's milk. he gained an ounce today! he is very patient with all of this and we have been blessed by very wonderful friends and family to help take care of our other kidlings. i'll update again when we know more.

bird baby...

2011-09-04T22:59:00.000-07:00

i have taken to calling Christian "bird baby"

why? because he's small. and he reminds me of a baby bird.

his small-ness is not surprising in the main, because let's face it...we are not huge people and quite frankly our kids ARE small.

but the fact that he has not gained much weight at all and has, in fact, lost some ounces IS troubling. at birth he weighed 7lbs. 9 oz. when we left the hospital (on a saturday) he weighed 7lbs. 1oz. that's not a big deal. then we went to the pediatrician's office on monday for his first check up and he weighed 7lbs. again not bad. then we went back for a weight check a week later, he was down to 6lbs. 10oz. the doctor says babies can lose weight in the first 10 days, don't worry. we go back three days later on a thursday and he's at 6lbs. 9oz. the trouble is...he's sleepy. and it's a vicious cycle i think, because he's tired and doesn't eat enough so he's still tired because he's not getting the calories he needs...blah blah....so i have been very strict on the every three hours waking him up to eat (employing a wet/cold washcloth and a super cold from the fridge water bottle i put on his naked skin to jolt him awake:) and, hopefully, getting him to eat on both sides...and i'm taking brewer's yeast and drinking my weight in water to make sure i am producing enough milk...and we go back on tuesday to hear great news, i hope! that he has gained some ounces! come on bird baby, you can do it!

on the plus side, he's been sleeping pretty well at night (now that i just wrote that i'll be up all night tonight...isn't that how it goes?) so i have been getting some hours of sleep in a row which has helped a lot.

big picture: i know that some weight loss is okay, i just want to make sure the little man is healthy you know? and i love nursing my babies and would feel sad if i couldn't, although if it's better for his health for me not to, i would totally do it you know? he has some reflux i think...he gags a lot, and has since he was born and this week started throwing up...not all the time, but enough to where i think he may need some zantac. we'll see. but, really he's so cute huh? i think so at least:) i am just drinking in the baby-ness of him!!!!

blake loves to sit in Christian's infant seat (which used to be his...)

dresser number two...and a pillow...

2011-08-27T09:54:00.001-07:00

so dresser number two is finally done! yahoo!!! this week i finally got it off the back porch because i didn't want it to get dusty from our AZ dust storms that we have this time of year...

this is how it began it's life...$30 from goodwill...

imagine the drawers with straight, all the way across pulls...why am i not better about taking before pictures with "hardware" on????

same process as dresser number one, i sanded it using my orbital sander, primed it with Kilz latex primer (brushed on because i bought a quart size of it), and then sprayed the paint. Krylon Dark Gray in Gloss finish is what Ethan picked for his dresser. he actually picked it, i did not pick it for him! yahoo:) then i sanded the handles, but i didn't prime them. i painted them with a regular acrylic craft paint, because i loved the color! i sealed the handles with Minwax Polycrylic Sealer

and there is no bottom drawer...it was broken when i bought it and i didn't even bring the drawer home because i didn't want to mess with repairing it. so i bought some wrapping paper from Big Lots (love that store!)

it has grid lines on the back for easier measuring and cutting...

and i used some trusty mod podge to fix my lack of drawer...i'll get some containers/baskets from Ikea i think to go down there to help corral some toys...

{before mod podge}

{after mod podge}

i like the way it turned out a lot!

******************************************************

i finally got the tooth pillow made! last sunday while i was home with new baby christian and he was asleep i made this!

i used this pattern but i changed some of the shapes, i didn't like the rounded ears available in the pattern so i used the "horn" template for the ears, shrunk one of the teeth down to be smaller, and free-handed the hair because i liked the spiky hair on a different monster pillow she made. i used the same dimensions though. this pillow is made from a lot of the same fabrics as Christian's bedding, which i hope to have done soon, i'm about halfway through i'd say:) no hurry though because Blake's still using the crib!:)

(and if you made it to the end of this post, give yourself a pat on the back!)

this week...

2011-08-25T22:27:00.001-07:00

it's been a week with baby and we are loving it still:) he's a good boy, and we are getting adjusted...one day at a time. that is my motto for integrating a new person...take it one day at a time. as long as we've kept everyone safe, fed and mostly happy...we are doing well.

three days old

we've been doing a whole lot of this..holding baby Christian (4 days old)

Blake discovered this gigantic bag and loved walking around the room with it on him...we just had to make sure he didn't hit the furniture!

in the swing...

sorry kendall...he just loves wearing the apron...he never wears it for long he just likes to put it on and take it off...

we have so enjoyed having my mom here with us this week...it's been awesome. she's leaving tomorrow morning and we will definitely miss her!!! (1 week old today!)

Christian Hartley

2011-08-20T18:56:00.001-07:00

our little guy arrived! yahoo! Christian was born on Thurs. 18th, at 5:36 in the morning. he weighed 7lbs. 9oz and was 21 inches long! he is cute and snuggly and we just are loving having him here! the kids adore him and almost want to love and touch him too much...but what's new huh?

he looks thrilled no?

his weight

our little addition

we are both doing well, i feel good, i actually went into labor by myself, he didn't put his hands up when he came out (like the other three did) and i am glad to be home in our environs and in my own bed! yeah!

ready to go home from the hosptial!

where's the baby? can't even see him for all the love!

avery had her first day of preschool on the day i had him...i was sad to miss taking her but it sounds like she had a great time!

she's getting so old!

dresser number one...

2011-08-16T14:59:00.000-07:00

(**questions are answered at the bottom of this post...)
dressers are always something we have to find more of whenever we have a new person come to our family. here is A's dresser before....this was after i sanded, i was too impatient to get a picture with the hardware on before sanding...

she's helping clean off the dust from sanding...

here's what the original hardware looked like, i didn't like how heavy and chunky they were and i didn't think they would be very easy to use for a small girl...

so we got these knobs at the Home Depot....

and here is the whole shebang! A picked out the color...but i like it bright and happy:) i did have to drill new holes for the knobs (and use wood filler to close up the other holes) because the original hardware were really awkwardly sized...there really aren't pulls made today that would be comparable in size. Kendall says it has to go in the closet in the room E and A will share because "no self-respecting boy is going to want to have friends over to play in a room with a pink dresser" which is probably true although i did remind him it's her room as well:) this dresser would look very nice roughed up and glazed i think...i just don't have the patience to do it right now...maybe one day. for now, i think it looks just fine:) ethan's dresser reveal will be forthcoming...i just have to paint the handles for his drawers...

(Questions Answered:)
Q: how long did it take?
A: i sanded it and primed it one day, then the next day i sprayed it, the next day i put the knobs on...so three days total

Q: Where did i find the dressers?
A: both dressers were found at different Goodwills in our area...after MUCH looking on Craigslist and various thrift stores.

Q: What materials did i use?
A: I used an orbital palm sander to sand it, Kilz 2 primer (which is latex/water based), and Krylon spray paint in Berry Pink, Gloss finish. The knobs came from Home Depot.

party wrap up...

2011-08-15T17:45:00.000-07:00

here are a couple more pics from avery's party...just some decorational items:) my new favorite thing to make for baby showers or parties for the girl are these tissue paper ball/flower things....they are simple, inexpensive and end up making a large impact! i think the original idea may have come from martha, but it has been reincarnated many places...so cute...

we made pink, yellow and turquoise pom poms...

and my other new favorite thing to make that is festive is bunting...typically i make the triangular variety, like on my lockers...but then i decided that the half circle shape is more "girly" and so i tried it out, and it is very fun to do as well! i think it turned out cute!

and the take home bags for the girls...you can get colored lunch sack type bags (just made of paper) in the card/stationary/wrapping paper dept. of walmart for $.25 each and so we got two different shades of pink, got some hello kitty images from the web (love that!) and added each girl's name to them...ribbon is from michael's...cute cute:) inside we put a box of hello kitty bandaids (small boxes of 10 you can find at Target), a hello kitty pencil, small hello kitty note pad, hello kitty stickers...(are you sensing a theme here?) and a hello kitty pez dispenser...

10 days...

2011-08-13T23:20:00.000-07:00

(there are some pictures of avery's party today at the bottom of this post if you can make it through my late night rambling:))

i find myself looking at the ticker at the top of my blog.

it counts how many weeks/days pregnant i am and how many are left to go. as i write this it says "about 10 days to go."

which means tomorrow will be a SINGLE DIGIT NUMBER.

i find that i might want to shed some tears at this juncture. this pregnancy has gone fast (and slow but mostly fast) and i have painted dressers on my back porch...we just had avery's friend party today, the last birthday i am in charge of for a while....

am i ready for this? are you ever ready for this?

i think the answer is no. but we do know more about babies and children than we did when we had ethan...that's for sure. so in some ways i feel prepared, and in other ways, not so much. i think i always feel this way...and then i just read a blog post by a friend that she is having twins. TWINS!!! bless them...and they are boys, how fun, that will boys 3 and 4 for their family with a princess in the mix...

and my ticker is about to click over to "about 9 days to go" (which, as we know doesn't mean anything because no one has told Christian he only has about 9 days left...he'll come whenever he darn well pleases i imagine...)

this is one of those rambling, late at night, crazy-pregnant-lady-cold-feet posts...if you can have cold feet about pushing another human out of your body...

i'm just saying....

avery's party went well...all but two of the 6 little girls invited had names that started with "A" which i find very interesting....

we colored hello kitty pictures, ate pizza and fruit, played pin the bow on hello kitty, made glow in the dark bead bracelets, painted fingernails and opened presents and had cupcakes....and a fine time was had by all! it was fun, it was pink, it is over and i am pooped!

the giggly, silly girls!

pin the bow on hello kitty

the birthday girl...i made the skirt minutes before she arrived back from camping...i might be in love with knit skirts that only take about 10 minutes to sew together! it's a little long but i was guessing and wanted to make it so she could wear it for longer...so i'm glad actually:) the shirt was a present from us for her party today...

the cuppy cakes...who doesn't like cup cakes?

Happy Birthday Avery!

2011-08-12T09:58:00.000-07:00

{just born}

Today our sweet little Avery turns 4!!!! Happy Birthday! Seems like not that long ago she was tiny...and had bad reflux:) Once we got some medicine for that she was much happier!

{going home from the hospital}

{first birthday}

{second birthday}

{third birthday}

{TODAY: SHE'S FOUR!!!!}

{blake and avery sitting on one of Avery's birthday presents from mom and dad...she got a tinkerbell sleeping bag because today is the ward camp out...dad is taking the birthday girl and the eldest...mom and blake will be staying behind...too pregnant to go:)}

happy birthday sweet avery, we love your spunk, your loving, caring ways, how you forgive easily and how you love your brothers and your family so much!!! you are beautiful and sweet and smart and we couldn't ask for a better girl!!!!

busy busy bee...

2011-08-11T11:34:00.000-07:00

Yesterday AM:

Target

Walmart

Michael's

Dollar Store

break for lunch, take E to school, naps for A and B

Yesterday PM:

Take E to a friend's house to play

while he's there:

go to another Target and a different Michael's

all in search of Hello Kitty paraphernalia for A's birthday party.

Today:

out on the back porch sanding and priming....hopefully painting later today....

this nesting thing is tiring:)

hello august...

2011-08-04T08:33:00.001-07:00

hi august,

it's nice to meet you this year. we have a lot of things to do together...a husband birthday, a daughter birthday, a father birthday, a friend nikki's birthday (and friend Audrey and Jacks who already had birthdays:)), a sister in law baby shower, the birth of a new person....not to mention volunteering in first son's classroom, scout pack meeting, 2 dressers to refinish, children to move into bunk beds, a little daughter starting preschool....and some sewing and...other things...

one day at at time august...one day at a time

i am excited for all we have to do! yahoo! at least first son is already in school and that routine is going well...:)

The Mortal Instruments...

2011-08-03T17:23:00.001-07:00

i just finished the first three books in this series of books (isn't everything a series these days????)

i liked them...interesting concept...werewolves, vampires, warlocks and the like in these books, but i enjoyed them. i have to confess though, in the last one, i skipped about 100 pages and then read the last 100 pages...just so i could find out the answers to my questions! don't worry, i went back and read the 100 pages i skipped so i wouldn't miss anything...and marisa, that issue we were talking about, does get resolved, so yahoo!!!!

(***i hadn't realized when i originally posted this that there was a new fourth book in this series, i'm now on the list at the library so hopefully i'll get it soon!)

Snaggle Tooth...

2011-07-31T23:40:00.001-07:00

he finally accomplished his desires to lose a tooth! a few weeks ago, he kind of bonked his chin and said his tooth felt loose after that...and i encouraged him to NOT wiggle it so much because i was afraid it wasn't really ready to come out and it would hurt and or bleed a lot if it came out too early.

fast forward several weeks...he mentioned it on and off, but really it was put on the back burner of my mind...kendall and i went out on a date on friday night and while we were at dinner, his mom (bless her for babysitting!) texted me that e's tooth had come out, while eating garlic bread, no less! so we called to talk to him...it didn't bleed at all, really, didn't hurt, just surprised him...wow! what a growing up boy!

i shouldn't be that surprised i guess because at the last dental appointment he and avery had (last month? earlier this month? i can't remember...my months and weeks and days are blurring together) his adult teeth looked SUPER close to the surface...and now he says the tooth next to it feels wiggly as well...i better get on making the tooth pillow...i think i want to make this one...cute huh?

Thanks Mom and Dad!

2011-07-28T17:36:00.000-07:00

My parents were able to come down for a weekend visit just this last weekend and it was SO GREAT to see them! Aren't they cute? i just love them! After they left Ethan said, "I wish Nana and Papa lived closer so we could see them all the time!" that would be fun! And Papa has Angry Birds on his phone...so that helps;) just kidding, we love you mom and dad!

first day of school!!!!

2011-07-21T16:15:00.000-07:00

well, we did it! ethan officially has one day of kindergarten under his belt!

about an hour before he needed to be there, i started feeling sad about it. i didn't cry then though, so that's good:) he was super excited and we made sure to have his snack packed, his water bottle ready and everything in his book bag that he would need early so we didn't have to scramble.

Blake fell asleep on the couch while we were reading a story before we took Ethan, and i literally couldn't wake him up, so i took him in the car asleep, but that's why he's not in the hugging picture with avery and ethan....

Ethan before walking out the door!!!

The Transformers backpack he loves!

(this is him a few days before school started...he just likes to wear it around the house:))

here he is walking into the gates of the school....not even a backward glance! As it should be!

he had a great first day...he said they didn't get to talk much, he raised his hand a lot and he doesn't know all the names of the kids in his class yet...i told him he has a while before he needs to know ALL their names:) he was happy when he came home and happy when he left, can't ask for more than that!

i was able to hold it together long enough to get home, get avery and blake down for naps and then i walked into the pantry (i was hungry!) and just started crying...that lasted for about 5 minutes or so and then i felt better and now i am just so proud of our kindergartner! he will have a great year, i know it!

funny side note: i couldn't rest while ethan was gone! sheesh, i was so anxious to know how it was all going and hoping that he was doing well and that everything was going well that i just got some things cut out and sewed! it was pretty relaxing:)

school...

2011-07-18T21:51:00.000-07:00

we went to meet ethan's kindergarten teacher today...i'm not sure i am ready for this! it's half day, everyday...but still...the fact that he can go, will go, is ready to go, and will love it...amazing.

i'm not sure where the time has gone and i feel emotional about it. i am sure i will feel even more emotional when he goes....i like his teacher, i am happy with what i have seen of the school so far...he's going to love it and thrive i am sure. he's a smart boy, but i guess i just want to hold on a little longer.

life moves on really quickly...how do we almost have 4 children? amazing.

thank you universe for listening to my existential ramblings...sometimes my mind is boggled by how fast these last years have gone.

i saw it...

2011-07-17T08:23:00.000-07:00

my sister went to the midnight showing of Harry...i am too tired to do that:) but we did get to go last night...it was AWESOME! after you see it, we'll talk about the ending...but 99% of it, i LOVED! so much. amazing story, amazing special magical effects...amazing.

i can't believe it's over.

j.k. please write something else...it doesn't even need to be about harry...i just need more of your awesome skillz....

a rather tight pinch...

2011-07-14T07:04:00.000-07:00

so we went to mcdonald's yesterday to play at the play area...i was feeling like i wanted the kids to pick something they wanted to do and this is what they picked...so we went.

about 1/3 of the way through our time there i started hearing blake cry...and then he wasn't stopping. so i went over and asked ethan where he was and he said he was standing at the top of the slide and wouldn't go down the slide with him (ethan). he also wouldn't go to the stairs to come down, or move in anyway...he was stuck. so here's me...34 weeks big, first i tried to go up the slide (it's a barrel/covered slide which is why he was scared of it i presume) but i kept slipping and needing stomach muscles i didn't have to get me up there. so that wasn't going to work.

then i went up the stairs, which are made for people ages 2-6, not people growing a whole other person...it wasn't pretty i have to tell ya! then i had to squeeze myself through a series of very small tunnels, and i finally got to him, and talked him down to me...then i had to get him out ahead of me...and contend with this other little kid who kept trying to go down before us...seriously he was right at my side the whole time and kept trying to get in front of blake...really kid? just hold your horses!

the best part? i was wearing a skirt! hahahahah! i am fairly certain i flashed some kids...oh well...you do what you have to, but i felt like i was being born again trying to get in and out of that play area with blake! yikes! needless to say he didn't go up into the tunnels again while we were there!

then when i sat back down after that, this older guy (who was sitting with his wife..grandpa of someone there i am sure) said something to the effect of, "i thought i was going to have to come in after you! or call 911...woman delivers baby on 3rd level of McDonald's play area..."

yep, that would be quite a headline!

Pirate Birthday {Arrrrr....matey}

2011-07-11T21:18:00.001-07:00

the front door...

our treasure chest (started life as a styrofoam cooler...)

inside of treasure chest...(i put a box in the bottom of it, covered with fabric to raise up the goodies)

treasure bags...each kid got one when they came in...i freezer paper stenciled on them (of course) and just sewed raw, torn strips of fabric as handles...

all the bags...

we went on a treasure hunt throughout the house to find small treasure boxes i found at the dollar store that had their pirate accessories in them (one held bandannas, one had eye patches, one had tattoos and one had compasses). we gave the kids a treasure map with a picture on it of where the treasure box was hidden and then when they got that box, it had another map in it, with another picture of where the next one was and so on. clever idea by Kendall.

Kendall dubbed himself "Captain NO Beard" for our festivities...

all our little pirate friends...ready to play pin the eye patch on the pirate...

round three of cupcakes...swedish fish

messy boy!

and a fun time was had by all!

we also made treasure maps...and watched an episode of Jake and the Neverland Pirates...and opened presents of course:) it was really fun, the birthday boy had a great time, and that's what counts!!!

Fourth of July and Birthday...

2011-07-09T23:25:00.000-07:00

Ethan had his sixth birthday party with the family...minus elise! we missed you! We went to Surprise and spent the day with Nana Kay and Papa Jerry and swam in their pool, ate delicious food...and had a great time! i am so grateful for all of our family who are so generous and loving and wonderful to our family and the kids! we love you! thanks for making his birthday great!

i made some quick embellished t shirts for the kids on the fourth...blake's has a red star...

avery's shirt has hearts (denim and red/white polka dot)...that is an actual headlamp she's wearing BTW...

birthday boy...has a matching stripe shirt with blake but no star...he was deemed old enough to escape my embellishing...this time! (6 years old! ga! how does this happen??)

first round of cupcakes (on his actual birthday)

second round of cupcakes, at Nana and Papa's house on the 4th! Idea from Hello Cupcake

Avery is showing us the Smencils Ethan got for a present...amazing scented pencils...i didn't know they existed but that root beer one REALLY smells like root beer! amazing!

No celebration is complete unless blake has at least half of his face covered in frosting! so funny!

aaaaaaaaaaaaaand...hopefully my mojo is back in full force...because i bought this oh so cute fabric online and it came in the mail this last week for baby Christian's bedding! i love it! i am excited to see the bedding come together!

pictures of Ethan's friend party (and round 3 of cupcakes) coming soon!

mojo...

2011-07-03T21:37:00.000-07:00

where has my sewing motivation gone?

have you seen it?

i really need it back....so if you have it...could you please return it?!?!?!?!

Six Years Old

2011-07-02T00:01:00.000-07:00

happy birthday eldest son!

(5 days old)

wow...time sure flies doesn't? it's amazing how far we have come. you were the start to our family, and we have learned so much from you, and continue to do so everyday.

you are bright, intelligent, happy, friendly, rough and tumble and very loving. we adore you.

thank you for being the big brother in our family. yesterday when you were on your date with nana and papa we missed you. i felt your absence and i was so happy to see you when you returned!

love you so much, buddy boy! keep on cruising...you are amazing to watch, happy birthday!

the monkey strikes again!

2011-06-29T08:10:00.000-07:00

on sunday we were all getting ready for church and kendall comes over to me and says, "look where your son is..." and this is what i found. he'd climbed onto the bench next to the table and gotten up on the table...presumably to look at himself in the mirror...i'm not sure:)

before that, this is how we found him on the couch...he's like his daddy, he can sleep anywhere, through anything...cause i'm pretty sure that the kids kissed him like 10 times and they were scrambling all over the couch next to him! sweet kids:)

9 weeks...

2011-06-23T22:21:00.000-07:00

9 weeks seems like a short amount of time. considering that you start a pregnancy with 40 weeks ahead of you and now we are down to single digit weeks...it seems a little crazy! and i feel like we have much to do. although, i am very happy to say that i was able to go through the kids' rooms, and bookshelves and the toy closet this week and take out probably 5-6 bags of stuff...without much complaint at all! it was fabulous. we make an effort to clean out things before birthdays (which is where we are now) or before Christmas...times when i know there will be an influx of new things coming into the house. and i think the kids are pretty used to it by now. they really didn't protest at all. but i do have a strict rule that they are NOT allowed to take things out of the bag once i put it in. No backsies.

the other accomplishment i was able to get through this week was to go through the boxes of kid clothes and organize them by age/size and get them packed up and labeled. i was very happy about that.

now onto my major list of other things to do: (sometimes if i write it down publicly then it helps me to be motivated...)

**baby bedding (this has been a big obstacle for me...i just didn't have any "inspiration" fabric...except when i got back from UT i kept thinking about this black denim my sister had at her house when i was there and i decided i was foolish to not take any with me and asked her pretty please to send some to me...and she said she would! yahoo! and so now i am onto a black/gray, yellow, green with a little bit of blue color scheme...)

**Need to get Ethan and Avery into their shared/bunk bed room. first phase to do the cleaning out, which i have done, second phase is to find dressers for people...we have one, need one more...then we need to get Avery a mattress. we already have her bedding she picked out at Ross...we should be good to go, hopefully by Ethan's birthday which is scary fast in it's approach.

**ethan's birthday party: a family one on that weekend...then a friend one the next weekend.

**i could go on and on with other sewing projects i want to do...finish the fishing hole project, make some washcloths, make another skirt for me, make a shirt dress (or two) for avery, have craft day at my house next week...it goes on and on...

i digress.....

i love this picture of blake...so funny!

before we left for UT, one of ethan's friends had a birthday party, which was SO MUCH fun, she's into tigers and they had a super fun party! they made a jungle room, netting hung from the ceiling...animals hidden all around, jungle noises...it was great! i made this bag for her (used this tutorial mostly)...and of course, freezer paper stenciled on it! i think it turned out cute:) my model was not super still but it's still cute:)

when your vacuum doesn't work...

2011-06-20T06:37:00.000-07:00

it's a good idea to take it apart and find what may be blocking it...

ahem...

i have no comment.

30 weeks and our UT trip...

2011-06-14T21:38:00.000-07:00

(this is a SUPER long post and has lots of PICTURES so if you make it to the end, give yourself a chocolate from me!)

today i am 30 weeks! yikes, time flies huh? i always feel a little sentimental at 30 weeks of a pregnancy because i was born at 30 weeks. i didn't have a chance to call my mom today and thank her for all of her bedrest and pain and frustration i am sure she endured around my birth but i think i will tomorrow. i am always so thankful that i have healthy babies, even ones who want to go some days after their due date...to me, that's okay. i would so much rather have my baby be healthy and me be a huge sweaty pregnant girl, than be super early as i was and maybe have issues. i was remarkably issue-free when i was born, but still scary to have someone so little!!!!

and i FINALLY got the pictures off my camera of our UT trip...so here are some!

we celebrated my birthday when i got there, which was so fun!

we also had my sister Amanda and her wonderful kids over for dinner the first Sunday we were there...they are so OLD now, which means i am OLD! i did just have a birthday but i changed all these kids diapers at one time or another and bathed them etc. Geoff is in college, Courtney is headed that way (and SOOOOO pretty!) and Mike is doing awesome in high school...wow...amazing.

my sisters, beautiful ladies, with Theo who just turned one and is super cute (and looks, a bit, like Blake, we think)

the younger set of cousins, wow, these kids had SUCH a great time together and they actually let Blake play with them really well too! My sister Erin gave Ethan some awesome How to Train your Dragon PJs and then found some she had for Avery too, so this foursome lived in those pajamas for the first two days we were together...and they let Blake be the dragon-slayer! he loved it!

these boys are approximately one pound different in weight (Theo 26lbs., Blake 25lbs.) and just about the same height. the age difference is 6 months

heading into the Dinosaur Museum at Thanksgiving Point...

a cool part of the exhibit...you can "build your own dinosaur"

the whole crew at the dinosaur museum...

plus Theo

they had a cool sandy area where you could "discover" bones and things...Dellah is demonstrating in this picture

one of the days we were there, as previously mentioned, Blake and I went shopping with my sister Erin to NPS and Tai Pan Trading (very fun) and Kendall took Ethan and Avery to Temple Square in Salt Lake to see some sights. They got to ride the TRAX system to Temple Square, they loved the trains!

(i'm really not sure how she fit herself in that dog house!)

One of the days we were there we took the kids to BYU. We went in the HBLL (Harold B. Lee Library) and showed them how part of it was underground, which they thought was cool. We saw the planetarium and other really cool things in the Eyring Science Center. Our little scientists LOVED all the cool experiments you could participate in at that building.

Air cannon on the stair landing, you can aim it down below you and when you hit the end with the leather stretched over it, a very directed "whoosh" of air would come out the other end at the person you aimed at. pretty cool

optical illusion of a dollar bill

we got to visit with Kendall's uncle Scott (sorry Scott, i didn't get pictures that day!) and his aunt Sandy...here's a new picture so they can replace the old one on the fridge! Blake was in rare form, doing his "funny face" for us and being really cute in general.

we also went to Heritage Park, which is huge and is home to the "This is the Place" monument as well as others, and a petting zoo (the kids FAVORITE thing), panning for gold, and pony rides...that was a big hit!

we also went to the awesome Dimple Dell pool...(no pics) the first time our kids have been in an indoor pool, i think. they had an awesome play structure in the shallow end of the pool that was spouting water out of every hole it could, it was very cool. They also have a small lazy river, which Avery got sucked into a little bit and had to be rescued by me...she refers to it as when she drowned. no pictures of that though.

we celebrated Miss Dellah's 7th birthday! we have such wonderful cousins and i am so glad we had the opportunity to spend time with my family on this trip. Mom and dad were great, Blake immediately started following my dad around and he would wander around and look for my mom all the time if he couldn't find her. A great time was had by all! Thanks Utah family for having us to stay! let's do it again soon!

we were gone...

2011-06-08T21:06:00.000-07:00

and now we are back...betcha didn't even miss us!

i am avoiding downloading my pictures off my camera...i'm not sure why but i am...i guess i don't want to admit that the trip is over...it was a really great time in Utah with my family. i really enjoyed myself.

i had a birthday

we went to the dinosaur museum at Thanksgiving Point

we went to Dimple Dell indoor pool

i went to the Salt Lake Temple with Kendall

we played with cousins (of all varieties...old and young:))

i got to go to the infamous Tai Pan Trading and NPS stores and they were AWESOME!

we went to Heritage Park and did all the fun things there (pony rides, petting zoo of sorts, old timey store, saw This is the Place monument among others, lots of walking, train ride...etc)

kids got to go to Temple Square with Kendall while i shopped.

really we had such a great time, we did all that and more, eating out, eating in, visiting aunt sandy and uncle scott and their awesome kids....

pictures to come of awesomeness

just not today. i am feeling very self actualized because i got the car washed yesterday, and today vacuumed it out and cleaned the windows inside and out....i am nesting, what can i say?

random pictures...

2011-05-24T16:17:00.001-07:00

it feels like there is a lot going on and not much all at the same time...do you ever feel that way? we are getting ready to go on a trip...all the daily stuff still has to be done...don't want to go to the grocery store because we'll be leaving soon so meals are getting interesting...i feel like i want to sew but get way tired at night so the list gets longer...you know the drill...

ethan found part of a bird egg outside one day...i wonder if it was from one of the birds from the nest in our tree...

blake fell asleep in the car today...i thought bringing him in and laying him on the ground might help him wake up...uh...apparently not! bless the third child (and the fourth!)

as a younger person, i collected a lot of things...stickers being one of them. the kids found some of the stickers one day and in the box with them were blank bookmarks...so a decorating of bookmarks party ensued. my favorite part is that blake is sitting right in the middle of it all! cuties.

every time i am having a baby it is during the summer (in AZ people, come on! what bad planning huh?) and every time i say to myself and out loud that THIS pregnancy needs to be a "skirt pregnancy" well this time, it totally is! i found this tutorial and i made one up this last week, i love it! it's comfortable and i think it will be very nice after the un-named baby is here as well! this knit has a silvery thread running through it, i am kind of in love with it! i got the fabric at SAS in Tempe...cheap and good!

it has a soft waistband (i have a skirt from target made in this same vein and i was wanting to make one like it and so i was SO happy when i saw this tutorial! awesome!) don't mind the trashcan...i'm just keeping it real here folks!

this baby has hardly any belly shots so i thought i'd take one at 27 weeks...

more freezer paper stenciling..

2011-05-13T12:51:00.001-07:00

it is a sickness!!! i can't seem to stop...although i might stop for a bit now so i can get some other things done:)

here is avery's shirt, i finished ethan and little man's shirt a while ago (didn't realize i hadn't taken a picture of those yet...they all have a "monster" initial on them. i used the font kingthings lupine size about 400 or 500 depending on the size of shirt) and avery reminded me the other day that i hadn't done hers yet...so i did it last night! and she wore it today...how's that for instant gratification?

this pillow used to have pink hearts sewn in lines down the front...and over time the hearts curled in on them selves and i didn't like how it looked anymore. i didn't want to go and sew each heart down individually again so i unpicked the stitching and went to town with the fabric paint again!

and nothing says springy/summery goodness to me like vibrant bunting so i made some for the lockers and i just love it:)

i got to use my new favorite metal eyelets and i used those command removable hooks. i might be in love with those too...depends on if they come off just as easy as the commercials say they do:)

Happy Mother's Day!!!

2011-05-07T23:54:00.000-07:00

I hope all you wonderful, hard working mothers out there have an awesome day! Happy Mother's Day!

Projects...

2011-05-07T10:13:00.001-07:00

per Rachel's request, i believe, here are some of the things i mentioned i was working on before...i figure i'm safe enough to post them now, most of the gifts are given or will be very soon....

For Ethan's teacher, for Teacher Appreciation Week, we made this little sack of goodness...the bag topper was from 30 days, shared on Skip to My Lou i just had to go with a pink bag as well, so bright and fun. inside we put some highlighters (to go with the "bright" theme), a gift card to Dairy Queen (who doesn't love ice cream?), and the wrapped little box is a box of Jiffy mix for chocolate muffins, one of our favorite treats with a handful of chocolate chips mixed in...makes only about 6 which is perfect for not overeating them. The gift card little holder i made, saw some inspiration from Martha and decided to give it a go...turned out well i think.

back (above) front (below)

For my just-turned-one-nephew, Theo, i made some freezer paper stenciled shirts...i can't help it! they are so fun and easy to make and i just love the results! so here are the two i made for him...hope he enjoys them:)

For Mother's Day there were many ideas chasing around in my head, but what i settled on was (a few things); starting with some of this great sugar scrub , my jars are Ikea spice jars (4 for $4), and i got the "flavoring" at hobby lobby. the ones i made for Mother's Day happen to be grapefruit.

i took this picture of the kids and framed it in some great distressed black frames i found at Big Lots.

i wrapped up some more Jiffy muffin mixes (i just can't get enough chocolate muffins).

and i tried making some quilted notecards, to use up some of my endless fabric scraps...it was a fun, quick project and i actually loved the small composition of each card... i will definitely be making more! the idea for those came from MADE ...i just want to make up bunches of them and have them on hand to give as little gifts..i know i would love to use them myself, perhaps others would as well! (don't be surprised if you receive some in the near future!)

is that all? seems like there had to be more...but i think that's it for the projects, for now.....

while i was at Big Lots (love that store!) getting frames, i found this set of notecards and envelopes...

but it had no price tag. so i took it up front and had them try to find a price, they couldn't, apparently it was the last of it's kind, so the guy let me buy it for $.50! awesome! and all the envelopes and cards were there so it was perfect for $.50. i love it when stuff like that happens!

wow...

2011-05-04T11:36:00.000-07:00

(unrelated picture...he fell asleep one day like that! so funny!)

i think i was so focused on easter for a while there that mother's day is totally creeping up on me this year! yikes! i have wild half-formed ideas/thoughts in my mind...wonder what will actually get done:)

right now, my kitchen looks like it blew up (i'll spare you the photo...) i have a project for my one year old (today!) nephew, a teacher gift for ethan's preschool teacher that is half done, the remnants of painting by avery and me...half of mother's day presents for some people strewn across another counter...it's a fun day:)

i just need some concentrated time to pull it all together...hmmm...maybe tonight?

egg hunting...

2011-04-25T21:33:00.000-07:00

we had a couple of easter egg hunts...one with our ward, super fun at the park and the other was at our beloved nana and papa's house, but inside because the threat that one or more of them would jump in the pool was great! so i only have pics of the outdoor one. blake loved it but as with his siblings before him, he would get an egg, shake it, and try to open it right then, if it opened, he would want to eat the candy, if not then he would find another egg! that boy has a SWEET tooth, man! i had to put everything Easter away today, if the candy is out, he is "asking" for it (and by that i mean pointing and making "uh uh uhhhhhh" noises) ALL. DAY. LONG.

ethan and avery had a great time with the egg hunts too, ethan was very meticulous to count up to the number we told him he could have and then stop...and then try to make others stop so that no one would have more than anyone else...what a kid he is! Avery was all about getting all she could and i wonder if she has x-ray vision because she got the MOST marshmallows, which are her favorite!

Happy Easter!

2011-04-24T16:26:00.000-07:00

hope yours went well today!!!

easter-y

2011-04-18T09:00:00.000-07:00

we have a few easter/spring decorations up...i tried some ideas i found online this year, i just love seeing all the inspiration out there!

i showed you our countdown before, it's working out well. here's another one of my embroidery hoop eggs...the other one is on this table....the egg garland was an idea from Eighteen 25, love those creative ladies!

i totally loved these Peeps from Made when i saw them, so i made a garland and some to hang on our banisters. now i am loving those metal eyelets...i want to put them in everything! i am looking for excuses to use them, they are so simple and fun to use:) no fancy equipment needed, the kit provides the pieces you need and then you whack it all with a hammer to close it up. so fun!

eye update...

2011-04-14T17:00:00.000-07:00

here is avery...day four of black (or as she calls it, purple) eye (here's day one)...she is a trooper and hasn't mentioned it except proudly to her buddy connor in the store ("look at my owie connor!) tough girl...

what the table looks like now...

2011-04-14T08:04:00.000-07:00

BEFORE

AFTER

okay, so here is the table!!! i like how it turned out, the outside is the same storm gray by krylon and the inside is also krylon spray paint in bahama sea (it was on sale!). i primed with gray primer and then went to town....

the curtain is actually part of a sheet that i got while thrifting...i like all the colors in it, especially for spring. it's on a tension rod, so it is easily changed when i get tired of it:) and the best part is, that was a "no-sew" project...i just used the larger hem the sheet already had as the channel and left the edges raw because it's a knit and knits don't ravel:)

we still need to get a shelving unit to put inside it...ikea has one i was eyeing and then there's regular rubbermaid drawers at wally-mart or target...just need to make up my mind:)

the mirror we already had...the subway art is a printable from eighteen 25 i am glad i tried out the 8x10 size, they are sized for 8x10 or 11x14, but to have one printed in the larger size is more than i wanted to pay for a picture:) i just bought a frame at goodwill for $1.99. i originally wanted to make this into an easter egg, but decided it was too big, and lucky for me, one time i was at goodwill, i found some oval hoops for $1 each:) the fabric and ribbons aren't sewn together because i love that Michael Miller ta dot too much to commit to using it permanently in the hoop. i pinned some edges down in the back to help them not stick out....when easter is over, i'll take them out:) sort of a "first draft" for how to organize things on to of the table...it's so deep it poses some interesting issues, i like it for now though!!!!

avery vs. couch...

2011-04-12T20:40:00.001-07:00

she had a run in with a couch at a friend's house yesterday...it is purple today...i'll have to get a picture tomorrow, because she is in bed now. they were playing "what time is it, Mr. Fox", kind of a tag game...quite an adventure!

Table Redo (s)

2011-04-08T13:23:00.001-07:00

a while ago, i bought this set of 2 benches and table off craigslist...they were in need of some TLC for sure! the benches i finished before Christmas since we were having the big dinner at our house...but i finally finished the table today...i can't believe i don't have a "before" picture of it but i looked in my folders and can't find one...it was pretty scraped up on the legs, i sanded them. i was not up for painting the entire thing. it is going to stay outside for eating or whatever until i need extra seating in the house. i decided to cover the top, initially i wanted to get some oilcloth with a fun, summery pattern on it but i couldn't find any locally that i liked and the prices to buy it and have it shipped were a little off-putting to me. so i looked at good old Big Lots and found a plasticized tablecloth i liked a lot and used that instead. only $3.50:) i know it might rip or whatever, but i am not super worried, since a) the tablecloth was not expensive and b) i got the table and benches for only $10.

I spray painted it with Krylon...i think it was called Storm Gray...i just threw out that trash so i can't check for sure...it's not classic gray i know that. i used a gray primer underneath, also Krylon. The wood of the table was very dark and i wanted to be sure i had good coverage. i like how it turned out. i like the tablecloth, it's bright and cheery and i think it will fit our "occasional" table needs.

another project that is currently in the works is this table...

we were on a family walk sometime last year...maybe novemeber??? it's been a while:) and i saw it in front of a neighbor's house (one of those put it out on the curb so the city can pick it up deals) and we walked past it and i took a long look at it as we passed...and kendall looked at me and said,"you want to come back for that don't you?" i said,"yeah, i do:)" he knows me well people. so good man that he is, he went back in the rain that night and good it for me. and then it sat in our garage for a while, the holidays and life kept happening and finally i decided this week was the week to get it finished up. i stained the top with Minwax Ebony (months ago) it was just plain butcher block...i'm not sure that will stay, we shall see.

this was a "first draft" i was trying to use only paint i had on hand so i tried the yellow...

...whoa i HATED it!

so we went to the store and bought more paint...it's not done yet...hopefully in the next couple of days i'll have it up and running...it's going to go in our entryway, with a shelving unit inside and a curtain to cover it up...

Easter Countdown...

2011-04-04T11:55:00.000-07:00

i saw this idea on Lolly Jane....and i just loved it!

i had my eye on these little bunny eggs from the dollar store...so i got a couple packs of them to do this project! i think they are just so cute! They come six to a pack, white and dark pink in one, purple and light pink in another.

i got the cookie sheet i used at the dollar store as well and spray painted it with some leftover spray paint i had..i did green on the bottom so they would be bunnies playing in the grass...and i just love that green:)

(the last pink on there on the bottom was a victim of a tragic farming accident...or just a run in with my children. don't worry, no bunnies or children were harmed during the making of this craft)

they are magnetized onto the cookie sheet, i got these magnets from walmart...

they have a little sticky foam backing so they are super easy to just stick on the eggs! i wrote on the bunnies' ears with my silver paint sharpie to count down 12 days before Easter!

i don't have a magic vinyl machine and i wanted to minimize costs so i printed out a heading and laminated it and put magnets on the back...i want to be able to use the cookie sheet for birthday countdowns for my kids because they LOVE being able to count down to big events!

so fun and simple and i really love looking at the bunnies:) we'll put small candies in them and probably an Easter themed activity we can do together,

spring "wreath"

2011-04-01T07:30:00.001-07:00

i am a little bit obsessed with embroidery hoops...i love the ones i see hanging on walls with pretty fabric, i have about 10 sitting upstairs in my sewing space right now! i get them at thrift stores where they are only $1 or less!

i found a large (12X20) oval one a few months ago and it's been crying out for me to do something with it. and my door needed some ornamentation as well, so i thought i'd make something springy...

i don't have a silhouette or cricut (not for lack of trying to win one though:) so i did things the old fashioned way...i used Maiandra GD font in word and made letters the size i wanted (size 280, bolded), cut them out of paper and then cut them out of the fabric i wanted to use (old jeans actually). then i cut pieces of the accent fabric out in shapes, those paisleys and flowers just put me in mind of spring and summer days:) then i hand stitched it all on, because i already had it positioned in the hoop how i wanted and didn't want to have to remove it and chance not getting it centered later. i really like how it turned out!

Little Man...

2011-03-30T23:37:00.000-07:00

we have longed called Blake "little man," and whether it is a direct result of Junior's Giants or not, i cannot remember...

if you haven't seen Junior's Giants (there are currently two movies, we like them both equally), then you should try it, i think you can see some trailers on youtube as well...

anyway, junior is the main character who has to conquer his "giants," i.e. problems in his life or difficult things to overcome...it's a great message.

but junior has a little brother who they just call...little man. he always carries a spoon (because he was denied one during his first birthday cake eating experience and doesn't want to be caught without again), he sometimes hits others with his spoon and he climbs.

while blake doesn't carry a spoon, he does, often, bonk you on the head (especially if "you" are avery...) with whatever he has in his hand...tinker toy, hard plastic bendy caterpillar, mega block etc. and he is a monkey...as previously discussed.

today, he surpassed my expectations and ended up here:

(there are skittles in that candy jar...i shall remember that they are good motivation for him for very far in the future potty training experiences...)

he actually pushed the blue chair over to the bar stools, climbed on the blue chair, then onto the bar stool...and i am prepared to bet he would have been on the counter if i had not intervened. i burned TWO tortillaland tortillas during this little episode...NOT COOL. they are the best tortillas ever! good thing they sell them at costco! (thanks for the introduction audrey!)

anyway, i am seriously contemplating hiding the chairs but how seriously inconvenient can it get? really! i think, like the stairs, we will just need to teach him but i can only imagine what long periods of needing to nurse a baby will do to him if he doesn't calm down with the climbing before baby #4 makes his arrival...he had fallen from heights twice today before 10 am. hello little man....

two's company...three's a crowd...

2011-03-28T21:10:00.000-07:00

especially on the powerwheels...

this is another favorite lately...taking Blake for a ride. he, of course, loves it and so do ethan and avery...it's a little crowded though, when all three of them try to ride together:) i just pray the smallest one doesn't fall off!

Dear Crayola,

2011-03-25T14:04:00.001-07:00

Today we bought your colored bubbles. They seemed very magical and lovely...what a great idea! But then we actually tried to blow them and I was disillusioned. I wish I would have taken a picture of the park where we tried them out. The pink made it look like a battle ground (really resembled blood), and I am not entirely sure that after a day in the AZ sun that is going to come off the pavement easily. (It did wash off in the bath satisfactorily, and I haven't checked the laundry yet...) The bubble solution is a little thicker than normal and kind of gloopy for lack of a better word...it got everywhere! On my children's clothing, on the ground, the cap leaks when I put it back on, there was green dye on all of our hands, arms (because when you blow little flecks of bubble solution fly off), it was an all around big mess and to cap it all...the bubbles did not even blow well!

I confess myself disappointed...every other Crayola product I've had or tried, I have REALLY enjoyed (Color Wonder markers...amazing and they have saved my carpet!) but this one is a DO NOT BUY in my book. Better luck next time Crayola!

"ice cream"

2011-03-24T11:28:00.001-07:00

(really it's sherbet...shhhhh...don't tell them)

i really love sherbet and so do the kids...they don't know the difference between ice cream and sherbet, at least they haven't said anything negative and i love the fruity flavors of sherbet, so light and nice tasting!

we discovered (it was blake who actually found it first) a bird nesting in our tree! how fun...now we all wonder if there are eggs and when they will hatch...

and look who can {finally} sport a full ponytail!!!! so fun! we have been growing her hair out for a while and i am glad to know our efforts are working;)

our favorites {right now}

2011-03-22T08:02:00.001-07:00

blake's favorite activity lately is dumping out all the play food...especially if we have JUST picked it up:)

ethan and avery's favorite thing is to ask blake to "make a funny face" and this is a variation of what we usually get...

i didn't get any "before" pictures...it was REALLY embarrassing....Alacey can attest to that...but i finally got my sewing space cleared out and cleaned up...i got the little white cabinet on craigslist for $30 and it helped SO MUCH! books and boxes of ribbon, extra fabric, and patterns are now stored in there instead of on the floor or taking up table space! it's so much better, i just want to go up there and sit and stare around and be inspired:) i have plans for some wall adornment...you'll have to wait and see what that turns out to be:) for now a cleaned up sewing space is my favorite thing!

ultrasound!

2011-03-14T11:46:00.000-07:00

i had my ultrasound today!!!

Profile shot

it's a BOY!!!!

little foot...

everything is going well with this little man! another boy...now we just need a name:) got any good ones? send them our way:) also, my date will probably be pushed back (i've adjusted my ticker accordingly, if anyone wants to know exactly), which i thought from the beginning, so now we are looking in the 20's of august...my dad's birthday is the 22nd...so we'll see if he has a grandbaby that day or not...who knows?:)

The Forgotten Garden

2011-03-13T22:52:00.000-07:00

i just finished a LOOOOONG book, The Forgotten Garden by Kate Morton.

i liked it.
it was a little confusing for me to get used to the jumps in time. she is basically telling three different story lines at the same time, and the only indication, at the start of the new chapter, is a small line of text mentioning the place and year. probably my inattention is more to blame than anything else, because, while i am a fast reader, some details go by the wayside as a result of a quick pace. i really liked the story line(s) and found the book overall to be very engaging and the writer very descriptive but not overly so. i have been pondering and pondering if there was any way to tell the story in a more linear manner, instead of jumping around, and in retrospect, i liked how all the different parts added up to give information at the needed time, it was just a little convoluted to me, while i was reading it. it's also quite long, five hundred forty something pages...when i expressed a little frustration over length (only because i had a time frame to get the book back to the library) "who writes a 500 something page book really?" kendall said, "yeah especially one that is not about wizards..." you got me there. 700 pages of J.K. Rowling? bring it on!

end wrap up: i really liked the characters, you got to know them very well, the writer is very good at giving enough description and detail that you are able to be "present" in the book, which i love. the story itself is gripping...just notice the little headers at the top of each chapter and remember who is involved in what time period and you are good to go!

another reason we are happy to live in AZ...

2011-03-09T21:02:00.000-08:00

conversation between avery and ethan today...

a: "ethan, want to come outside and play with me?"

e: "i'm not gonna say no to that!"

this would be the fourth or so time they have been outside to play today...i love it!

what makes it funnier is that our screen door had an unfortunate accident involving blake pushing on it too much a few months ago and now it's a child-size "doggie door"...**i'll have to get a picture of them using it tomorrow, it's pretty funny!** i now have pictures of blake detailing how you too can use your screen door as a child-size "doggie door"....

in other news...check out my ticker at the top of the page:) baby number four will join us sometime in august...i am actually banking on later than the 16th of august because of the lateness of previous children...but we shall see:) i am finally not feeling nasty sick...about the time the nausea was dissipating i got a sinus infection and that is finally going away now as well so hopefully i can enjoy this next part of the pregnancy thoroughly and try not to act as a human balloon:)

inventor...

2011-03-03T12:44:00.000-08:00

ethan comes up with lots of ideas everyday that he wants to do "when he's a scientist" or that he actually puts into action. he's very creative, he's always thinking of interesting ways to gain his objective....

like today, we've had this red heart mylar balloon (dollar store...) for over a month and it's still floating! he was trying to figure out how to get it down where he could reach it today...

that's logical:)

the other day the tinker toys and blake met the stairs...he was chucking them down the stairs faster than anyone could pick them up so i decided to take pictures of him instead:)

ethan's arrows that came with this boy all broke (like $5 walmart toy) and so he improvises now quite well (see what i mean...creative and resourceful!)

and i am ridiculously excited about this sheet i found at goodwill today....

our ward is doing a service project until september making pillowcases for a local children's hospital...and i know they don't always have a lot of "boy" pillowcases so i went looking today and i found the transformers! (there were also cars (but not Cars), and spiderman, but i opted for the vintage transformers!) it's just so awesome. you don't see them drawn or made like this anymore. i think i like it so much because it's from "my" 80's you know? i also found a blue sheet with white clouds (a la Andy's room in Toy Story) and some flowers for girls...it's going to be some good pillowcase making fun! i am excited to use sheets because it's a lot of fabric and it's also reusing...i'll show 'em when they are done. and...we may even keep a transformer one for the enthusiast at our house;)

Good Eats...

2011-02-24T10:33:00.000-08:00

We have had some really good food around here lately, if i say so myself:) i really like the site Our Best Bites they have easy to follow directions and i like the pictures too:)

we made their pizza last night, this post gives the rundown on pizza, since i am revisiting yeast bread making in general lately, that was good to read. i used their favorite bread stick (and pizza) recipe for the dough and the only modification i made was to use about half wheat flour because along with a goal of wanting to relearn yeast breads, i also want to use more wheat this year. i used their sauce recipe as well. i was very happy with how the pizza crust turned out, very crispy on the outside and chewy on the inside, very tasty and everyone liked it. in fact i have no pictures of it because it was gone before i could think of taking the picture:) the recipe would probably make 2 larger pizzas, i made one large one and two small (personal) size ones. just 'cuz....

i also tried their cinnamon roll recipe (again about half wheat flour) and those turned out tasty as well!

some good yeast bread experiences/experiments...gives me a bit of confidence that i can continue to do that:)

freezer paper stenciling...

2011-02-16T11:01:00.000-08:00

i love freezer paper stenciling! it's so fun! i got the kids shirts from walmart ($3.50 each!) and stenciled on them for a valentine present. there are tons of tutorials out in blogland for this technique, i liked this one and there was another one that i can't find right now...if i find it i'll post it...

i was originally going to to do valentine themed shirts...but couldn't think of something clever enough for all three kids, so i opted for things i thought they would like instead and then did a valentiney one for blake.

it is such a simple process and i really enjoy the results! i was also surprised how the details came through really well...it is a quick process too...as long as you don't spend an hour, like me, trying to finalize the design...then it will take longer:)

(i didn't get great pictures of the shirts themselves because shortly after i took these initial photos there was an unfortunate incident with mud pies and LOTS of red clay mud...it was extremely unfortunate!)

i just printed out the images i wanted to use, i found the simplest hello kitty and the simplest transformer autobot symbol i could. then you trace it onto your freezer paper, cut it out with an exacto knife...

the only tricky part for me was realizing that since i wanted the outline of the pictures on the shirts then i had to cut out the positive parts of the image and keep the negative parts to put on the shirt...does that make any sense? i kept thinking, okay, i want this line to be on the shirt so i need to cut around it so i can paint the line with the brush...it just takes some "fourth dimensional" thinking (if you are a Back to The Future fan)

totally worth it, totally fun! i recommend trying it! so many possibilities too....

happy love day!

2011-02-14T10:05:00.000-08:00

hope you all have a great one!

sickies...

2011-02-10T09:12:00.000-08:00

we've had sickness over here...for the last week or so. turns out ethan had the actual influenza-take-tamiflu-sickness along with a nasty cough. blake had bronchitis (and still sounds yucky) and avery just developed a cough...we'll see if hers turns into anything.

i was able to finish that heart garland i wanted to make...being inside all day for days in row helps i guess. i enlisted the kids to help me, i'd cut all the hearts out already and just had them hand me in no particular order to sew and i think they turned out very cute:)

ethan decided he wanted to make round crayons for his classmates for valentine's day so we did that the other day as well...i used this tutorial from Make and Takes and it was very easy and fun. i had the kids take the papers off the crayons and they enjoyed it quite a bit! then we broke them into pieces and in the case of some of the really large crayons, cut them with a knife into smaller pieces. but i think i would cut them even smaller next time because they took longer to melt than she indicated in the tutorial...i think just because they were so thick and chunky to begin with....

in pieces ready to melt...

excited...

cooling...

avery using them!

front of valentine bags

back of valentine bags

seriously...

2011-02-07T10:56:00.000-08:00

it's been a while since i posted and i always feel like i am doing well but the days just slip by so fast, it's amazing! i feel like we are on fast forward! my kids are getting older and bigger too fast and i inch closer to thirty everyday...but i am going to welcome 30 with open arms i tell you! i am just glad to make it that far!

last week blake was banging on the wall...as he is want to do sometimes and a picture frame fell off and clocked him on the forehead! it swelled up so fast! none of the other kids really ever had an injury like that...i was amazing how fast it swelled up and how nasty it looked! my mother in law (blessed woman) came to help me out with the other kids and with a Baby Einstein, a sucker and a pretzel (one in each hand) then we finally got some ice (read: frozen peas) on the owie and after about 15 minutes it looked much better...the next day it was way better...whew! i couldn't ever get a great picture of it...this is the day after....

blake and avery laying on the pillow from the futon..."snuggling" together

we've had some valentine decorations up for a little while now...i still have a heart garland i want to make but every time i go upstairs to do it during the day the kids knock over stuff...today's strategy was to give them felt they could cut themselves (ethan and avery..not blake), which they always like, and that worked for a while until blake started throwing safety pins and trying to grab my gingher scissors...hands off bubs!

(need to find something for that third hook....)

so we'll see if i can get it done....

monkey...

2011-01-25T22:16:00.001-08:00

blake is keeping me especially busy lately with his monkey imitations...he is a CLIMBER! ethan climbed on ONE thing i think ever and then never again. avery climbed a little more than ethan but blake takes the cake. man! the boy is inventive and quick! if he wants to be gone in 2 seconds he will be. add to the fact that now he can walk and reach to get up on more things....well just take a look at some of the places he's been rescued from...

this blue bench was originally put across the stairs to stop him from going up the stairs. for a few weeks it worked beautifully until he learned to climb up on the bench. and now he goes from bench to stairs quite easily.

very precarious perch there on the stool of avery's art easel. i caught him right before he was going to fall down...

blake loves to "help" with the dishes, and he figures this is the best way to do that.

he does this almost everyday...i also found him on our big black table the other day...it only takes a minute and an available chair...

this was a personal favorite of mine...while i was making dinner one day and he was pulling out pots and strainers and tupperware...he got in the cupboard! so funny. i let him try to get himself out...but he needed help...

he also enjoys (not pictured) climbing up on avery's bed and trying to pull down pictures etc. that are near her bed, getting on the stool in the bathroom, on the futon in the front room and don't get started on the stairs! i have to go up and down the stairs with him many times a day. he gets up okay by himself but coming back down still makes me nervous...so i supervise. what a fun stage, no actual sarcasm, i really love this stage he's in, it just wears me out! but he is so stinking cute (in my opinion) it's hard to be irritated for long!

new benches...

2011-01-18T09:36:00.000-08:00

BEFORE

i found two of these benches and a (smallish) table that matches on craigslist for $10! yeppie skeppie! they were in need of some TLC though, for sure! the cushions looked as though they had been attacked by a cat of some sort and then my children aided in tearing off little bits of the stuffing when they went by the benches in the garage. the "feet" of the benches were very damaged as well, maybe the same cat? looked like they'd been clawed and were really in bad shape. so i went to home depot and got some remnant wood ($.51 or something per piece! awesome!) and then contacted a guy in our ward who helped me cut the pieces to fit. i pulled out a bazillon staples and got the torn pleather off...and the foam was in surprisingly good shape so i didn't have to replace it at all. that's a bonus!

AFTER

i've had this pink oilcloth for a while, and i thought it would look good with my black and white table and chairs so on it went. it took about 3 minutes to put on the new oilcloth and i am very happy with the results! i like them a lot. my husband helped put the new "feet" on after everything was painted and i think they look a million times better! one bench is by the table and the other is in the entry way. i plan to spiffy up the table soon as well...it's going to reside outside mostly, unless we need extra seating for crafts or meals. all in all, not a bad deal for $10 for three pieces of furniture and some black spray paint:)

I heart naptime...

2011-01-17T12:04:00.000-08:00

and i heart naptime is doing a giveaway too....cross your fingers!

house of smiths...

2011-01-17T11:56:00.000-08:00

house of smiths is giving away a silhouette too! so awesome!

just can't help trying...

2011-01-17T11:37:00.001-08:00

All Things Thrifty (one of my favorite sites...) is giving away a silhouette machine! i just can't help myself, i have to try!

happy {belated} new year...

2011-01-06T10:54:00.000-08:00

christmas eve, best picture we could get of the wiggling worms....

ethan got his first two-wheeler for christmas this year...

we took his new bike, and bat and ball to the park and this was what the other two did while ethan played around with those new toys:)

avery tells me she was making mud cakes....

on the 7th day of this new year, i want to wish you a happy one!!! we had a great holiday season, i hope you did as well...we went to see some snow after christmas and stayed in a really nice cabin with kendall's family in pine/strawberry area. it was super fun!

the boys fell asleep with their heads at the same angle, i thought it was pretty funny...

blake is walking now, though it is still not his favorite way to travel...he still loves to push chairs around the kitchen and then climb on them and then climb onto other things using the chairs...funny kid:)
(why is blogger underlining this text? weird, i can't even find anything in the HTML to fix...)

here's the kids playing with dad, i like that blake is trying to get in on the action as well!

Hope you have a great one...

2010-12-25T00:05:00.000-08:00

happy christmas to you all! i hope you get to celebrate with family and friends, i hope it was and is all you wished for...i hope you feel loved. Merry Christmas people!

Bread Bowls..

2010-12-16T22:45:00.001-08:00

or bread boules..

whatever:)

i want to buy some, anyone know a good place to get some in my AZ area?

family pictures!!!

2010-12-14T22:09:00.000-08:00

our amazingly talented friend, alacey took our family pictures and i really couldn't be happier with them! she did such a great job, our kids...did a great job all things considered...i just love having these memories preserved so beautifully! thanks alacey!

stockings...

2010-12-12T21:46:00.000-08:00

i made our stockings (originally) the year avery was born. i am just gonna say, that was a dark time for me. my mom was diagnosed with breast cancer mere weeks before avery was born, i had a newborn so i couldn't go be with my mom during her surgery or chemo or anything, the newborn in question was projectile vomiting the contents of her stomach on a regular basis because she had such bad reflux...she couldn't sleep well, was cranky etc....so i was tired and emotional and yadda yadda yadda....

so i think in my sleepless haze i dreamed up THE hardest way to make stockings and then tried to do that. they were okay, they were cute from a distance but up close, i didn't love them.

so i went to make Blake's stocking this week (yep, he didn't have one last year...something's gotta give people) and it didn't turn out well and i just thought, if i have to look at these stockings and use them, i better love them! so i made us all new ones! fortunately i had enough fabric for a whole other set of stockings and i really like how they turned out!

(click on pic to see details if you wanna...)
the boys have red stars and red jingle bells (i just bought joann's last little bag of red jingle bells for blake's they aren't sewn on yet) and the girls have white stars and white pom pom fringe! so much better, i have to tell you. i don't even think i have a picture of the old ones, but they had the green santa fabric on the toe and heel and it wasn't a good fit so it was bunchy and weird, and then the cuff wasn't a cuff, it was a flap and i hated that...the pom pom and the bells were the same, the wooden letters were the same...the stars i added this time because i love stars....anyway, i am much happier so that's what matters:)

we went to the Mesa Temple lights display tonight (for the second time) with kendall's family, because his dad is back in town from Iraq...and it was fun. blake loves to walk with anything that will move with him, hence, "helping" daddy move the stroller, the kids loved the lights and a good time was had by all:)

ethan and avery have been painting with watercolor a lot lately (mostly ethan...but avery some) and he's quite prolific so i decided we should make beautiful snowflakes out of his artwork...

table...

2010-12-09T20:41:00.000-08:00

when i bought this table and i told my sister in law (elise) about it, i believe she said something like "how many tables do you need jen?" point well taken:)

i have a pedestal table in the kitchen area...i have the huge black dual pedestal table in the dining room...i have a table for my sewing machine and now i have a cutting table! yahoo!!!

i got this blessed table at DI for $8, it is a BEAST...very heavy. when i mentioned this to kendall he said something like, "everything you like is heavy!" (furniture speaking)

and he's right. the lockers, ridiculously heavy; the black table, very very heavy, even the pedestal table is heavy. The tables are heavy because they are all wood...but i digress!

so the base of this table is metal, the top is particle wood or something covered with...something that breaks off if you try:) so i started by gluing down the part that broke off with E6000 glue (amazing glue!)

and i broke away from tradition in favor of speed this time and i didn't prime and i didn't sand! (gasp!) i know, but it turned out fine.

i used Valspar Spray Paint, Pistachio color. it covered really well and went on very smoothly. i painted the top with chalkboard paint, my plan is to get some of those cool ChalkInk markers and doodle or make notes on it with that...
and this is what it looks like now. i have already used it as my cutting station and it is SO MUCH better than sitting on the floor trying to keep the baby from grabbing my rotary cutter! yay!

The Tree...

2010-12-09T15:28:00.001-08:00

we decorated our tree on the 3rd...the kids had a great time and blake hasn't quite figured out how to pull it over yet, so we are doing well:)

Recently...

2010-12-02T21:00:00.000-08:00

well, recently is a relative term but on November 1 we started potty training avery! whew...the first week was not so great and i had some reservations but we pushed through and i am glad to report that (for the most part) she is doing fantastically well. i was so dubious about starting this process because she is so opinionated and strong willed that i didn't think she would take well to me asking her to go potty a bunch of times etc. and while it wasn't her favorite thing, she did it:) fruit snacks help! she's had a few accidents but really she is doing well. and night training will take time i guess right? we take her to the bathroom in the middle of the night (when we remember) and that helps a lot. that's her recent news:)

blake has turned into a climber...he learned how to climb up on avery's toddler bed and was climbing (and falling) so much off the kid's little folding chairs that they are now in the closet! he is such a sweet kid...he really takes a lot of guff from the siblings because they over love him but he genuinely seems to enjoy their affections:)

ethan is doing well, enjoying preschool and being a might be bossy but he's a firstborn. we put up christmas decorations today! i love it!

Idea Room Silhouette Giveaway...

2010-11-28T16:27:00.000-08:00

i know, another one! the Idea Room is giving on away, i really love this blog and i would really love that machine! yikes, i'm crossing my eyes now!

Colies Kitchen Silhouette giveaway...

2010-11-28T16:08:00.000-08:00

there are tons of blogs giving away silhouette's and i SO want to win one...so Colie's Kitchen is giving one away and that blog looks awesome! i'll have to check it out when the hoopla of the giveaway is over! cross your fingers!