Because I am so awesome...or, Westward Ho!!

I spent hours designing and sewing some car seat storage for our upcoming trip. Starting at the top left corner and going clockwise are Mason's, Lincoln's, Sammy's and Elise's. There are two deep pockets on the bottom and 3 shallower pockets on the top, with elastic near the bottom to hold them onto the seats. They were super easy to make, and I was able to use all fabric that I had lying around. There are lots of pieces of curtains in there! :)

I also made some felt crayon rolls for the older kids:

I spent the better part of Friday downstairs sewing, and Elise pretty much ran the household in my absence. She warmed up leftovers for lunch (because I was sewing instead of making bread...), and when I finally came upstairs for something, this is what I found:

Lincoln loves him some beans!

29 weeks, 4 days

This dress is my $6 thrift store steal!

Lincoln in the bathroom

This week Lincoln learned how to climb on the bathroom counter. He stands on the bathroom stool, pulls himself onto the toilet (yes, I know, totally gross!!!), then leans over, kneels on the TP and pulls himself onto the counter. He has so much fun up there! He sucks on the toothpaste, turns on the water, plays in the soap, plays with the toothbrushes...sometimes he even combines the last two! I went to brush my teeth the other morning--just a quick brush, so I didn't put any toothpaste on--and was baffled at all the froth that was building up. That's when I remembered about Lincoln + soap + toothbrushes. I washed my own mouth out with soap!

I really need to get to Lowe's and get a new door knob!!

One Sammy stuck

Around 1pm the day of the snow cone stand, a drama was unfolding in the house. Soon after I put Lincoln down for his nap I hear Sammy calling me from the bathroom. "Mommy! Moooooooooooommmmmmmy! MOMMY!!!!! I'm stuck!!!" Sure enough, the bathroom door knob would not open. It wasn't locked, it just wouldn't open. I figured that the latch must have malfunctioned and would no longer retract. Oy.

I sent a coloring book under the door to keep him occupied while I frantically tried to get a hold of Stephen and posted my dilemma on facebook, looking for advice.

Over the next hour, Sammy went from a pessimistic "I'm never going to get out of here!" to a more upbeat, "I'm coloring in my book in the bathtub!"

My neighbor came over. My friend came over. We bashed in the door knob, but it would not come off! We tried sending a screw driver under the door to Sammy, but it wouldn't fit. There are no windows in the bathroom for him to squeeze out of, or for us to send in tools.

Finally I was able to reach Stephen. His advice worked: remove the trim and try to push back the latch. The latch was so stuck that it wouldn't budge with a credit card (actually it was my Costco card--I didn't want to hurt my more valuable plastic), so I wedged a giant screwdriver between the door and frame and my friend used it as a lever to pry back the door enough so that I could use another giant screwdriver to slowly push back the latch.

He made it out! The door is a little the worse for wear, and we don't have a door knob currently, but he made it out safe and sound! He was in there nearly an hour.

The lack of a door knob on the bathroom leads right into my next exciting stay-at-home-mom adventure. And in case you were wondering, these adventures really aren't the "choose-your-own" type...

Stephen's bike

Stephen's bike was stolen on Tuesday night (he left it on campus and somebody cut his lock). To say I was upset is a complete understatement. That bike was like part of our family! He's had it as long (or maybe even longer) as Mason has been alive! I imagine I felt the same way that someone would feel if someone stole our car. We found out on Wednesday night (Stephen called and asked, "Is my bike at home in the garage?" Um...no).

Mason decided to quickly finish 250 Snap Circuit projects so he could get the "Treasure Finder" from Elenco. Then he could find treasures (like gold and screws) and then sell them and raise money for Daddy's bike. Elise decided to do a lemonade stand the next day. Sammy literally emptied his piggy bank of all his pennies, nickels and dimes and put them in a jar for Daddy's bike. They all decided to donate their pop can money to Daddy--and promptly went out to collect more pop cans from the neighbors. I shudder to think how shameless Mason could be as a beggar. I simply held back tears because of how upset I was, and how unselfish my kids are.

The next day dawned bright and clear--and free of the horrible humidity that has been plaguing our fair city. Okay, no more fancy talk. :) I convinced the kids that a snow cone stand would be better than a lemonade stand (because a lemonade stand would require us to go to the store, and once again, I was already over our food budget...). Elise made some signs--one for the stand and one for Mason to hold up so passing cars could see it. 50 cents a snow cone, 25 cents for a fake oreo. They collected their table and chairs, tablecloth, snow cone maker and change while I made the syrup. (In case you wonder how to make it, it's really easy: bring 2 c sugar and 1 c water to a boil. Add a package of KoolAid.)

(I was going to insert a picture here, but apparently Mason deleted all the pictures off my camera. 

He is TOAST!)

By 11am they were ready to go! By the end of the day they had made $10.50! Oh! They were so proud to have all that money in the jar for when Stephen got home! Unfortunately, he had a conference, so didn't get home until after they were all asleep. And he had to leave early the next morning, as well. The kids woke up to see him, and he was able to tell them how much it meant to him that they would work so hard for him.

Bugs

Stephen and I are doing our planning, and all of a sudden Mason bursts into the room (because that's how he flies) and starts asking questions about things that we've been talking about--things that he couldn't hear from down in his room.

Turns out they planted a bug in the corner--the baby monitor is on up here in the living room and down in their bedroom.

Those kids!

Family visits, part 3

These last few months have been full of family! And nothing makes me more happy than that. My mom flew out for a week of fun, and we had it! Mom loves to read to the kids, so they spent quite a bit of time doing that. We ran errands (it is so nice--and fast--when I can run in to a store without the kids!!), went to Nauvoo (more on that in a minute), weeded just about everything, played soccer and sewed up a storm. And again, I love Kitchen Fairies. Because I hate dishes.

Mom brought night shirts for all the kids (including Lincoln, he's just not in the picture)...

...and helped me finish up 2, yes, TWO, quilt tops that I began 1.5 and 2.5 years ago. Since we both know it is highly unlikely I will finish the quilts on my own, I'm taking the tops to Oregon with me next month and we'll finish them up there. :o)

She also taught me how to alter shorts patterns and sew pj shorts and towel bibs. The pattern and ribbing lessons were both much desired and appreciated. Now I can start (and hopefully finish, thank you, Elise) some simple sewing projects all by myself! Mom is wonderful like Stephen is wonderful--they both start and finish projects. And they enjoy having projects to do! Handy talents to have at my disposal.

Rats! Lincoln just woke up. Hopefully I'll get to the biggest chunk of Mom's visit soon--our Nauvoo trip. Stay posted!

QOTD

In Sacrament meeting today the speaker asked us to think about some things before she began her talk. One of them was, "Think of a time when you have set a long-term goal to do something, like finish a difficult project, and started out really excited and energetic about it, only to not complete it for some reason."

Elise leans over to me and says,

"You don't even have to think about that one, Mom!"

Oh dear. She's noticed!

A few of my favorite things...

Sammy's every-night prayer: "Please bless Mommy's pregnancy and help the baby to develop properly."

And...

"Stephen's Vanity" aka "Claire's Dream Cabinet"

As I previously mentioned, I like to have an idea and have someone else create it. :) Especially when it turns out exactly how I envisioned it--or usually, if Stephen has anything to do with it, even better! There is a corner in our living room that drives me nuts. Everything about our living room is neat and tidy and uncluttered...except this one corner. It houses a small bookshelf and all our daily school supplies--books, papers, pencils, you get the idea. Here it is:

A complete and utter mess, with no way to make it look nice.

Enter one very talented husband who loves woodworking...3 complete designs and one week of building later, check out this baby:

To say I love it is a complete understatement. I now have all that stuff that was shoved on the bookshelf/floor inside a sleek and attractive cabinet. There is room for each of the kids' school boxes, library books, picture albums, etc., etc. It is beautiful and perfect, and I think it is almost as great as Stephen does! :) :)

Family visits, part 2a

How did I forget to mention bike riding with Grandma??

Family visits, part 2

A couple of weekends after my dad came to visit, Stephen's parents came for a long weekend. Holy cow. I can't even believe how much we accomplished while they were here!! Stephen took Friday and Monday off of work, and between his parents and him, so many of my little projects got finished. It was wonderful.

I'll start with my top 3 favorite things:

1) Grape arbor. I feel like I step into my own secret garden every time I walk through it. I love being able to say, "I have this plan in my head, can you build it for me?" And then having it turn out exactly like I envisioned it.

Also notice that the garden gate actually closes. It's a beautiful thing--and a clever fix to my "fixing" the gate. Ask me how that went...yeah, not so hot!

2) Laundry room shelving. After tossing around some different ideas, me never really thinking it would get done, and going with Stephen's idea instead of my own (see! I can bend!) I have a sweet set of shelves, which also turns out is exactly what I was hoping for. All the tin-canned goods are in the cabinet with doors, and all my home-canned goods are under the stairs where no babies can accidentally break the jars.

3) Washer drain pipe. This seems so silly and insignificant, but has really made a difference in my life! The washer used to drain into the utility sink (above picture, bottom right corner), which meant that every time it would drain, a very stinky smell would waft throughout the house. Just think of all the nastiness that gets on clothes (not to mention cloth diapers!), creating a beautiful smell that made being downstairs just plain miserable. It now drains straight into the sewer system. Truly beautiful.

Here's a list of all the other wonders performed over a long weekend, in no particular order...

Grandma and Elise planted a flower garden
Grandma planted a clematis and replanted some peonies and Lilies-of-the-Valley
Weeded the strawberries
Ate pizza and Jimmy Johns
Went to the park
Ate yummy food
I didn't do dishes!! Come back, kitchen fairy!
Stephen planned my dream cabinet (more on that in another post...)
Grandpa fixed Mason & Elise's drawers (and told those two that slamming and climbing on them wasn't good for them...hopefully it will sink in with someone else saying it!)

Elise turned 9!

Mason and Grandpa played Snap Circuits and Mason learned to solder!

Sammy and Grandma made a treasure hunt, had a picnic and read lots and lots of stories

Elise had her ballet recital

 Mason, Stephen and Grandpa replaced some faucets--both the kitchen faucet (planned) and the outside hose faucet (unplanned)

We relaxed outside

I'm sure I'm forgetting some things--we (being used very liberally) literally worked and worked and worked. It was a fantastic weekend! It's amazing the difference it makes to have little things taken care of. It's also amazing how exhausting doing all those little things can be!

Come back soon, Grandma & Grandpa!