Crib Skirt... Done!

Woo Hoo! I am so proud of myself *insert big grin here* !!!

So now Isaac has a valance (sp?) and a crib skirt that match. I am still hoping for a little quilt- haven't sorted all my scraps yet... But I AM happy because when I laid out the pieces, the two ends were shorter than the deck (the part that goes under the mattress) and the sides were too long. But I curved them around and they look great :-) The cartoon bears aren't going to work though... but I'm not sure if I'm even going to worry about it. I'm just happy it's put together.

Mondays

Even months later, it still is taking me time to get used to working Thurs/Fri instead of Sun/Mon. I LOVE having Sundays off to spend with whatever family we end up with- I am so grateful for everyone in our lives. We are truly blessed with such an extended and loving family.

But the whole beginning of the week/end of the week just throws me for a loop! I do like this so much better though. Instead of being hectic, Mondays are our "slow-down, catch up day." It's great.

Saturday, thanks to Brooke hosting a "crafty day," I got restarted on Isaac's bedroom linens. :-) Because he's already 6 months and still in the bassinett, I'm skipping the bumper and just doing the crib skirt to match the curtain. I'm hoping to have enough scraps to do my very first quilt too! Today I'm planning on making further progress, and if I'm really good, I might finish it. But knowing me and sewing, something is bound to go wrong; especially if no one is around for me to seek guidance from!

Wish me skills ;-)

Said Deer...

Guess which one is Melia's....

All I could do was laugh...

Background: Mark and Linda brought down two reindeer that were originally intended to be made into Christmas decorations- picture cardboard paper-mache type deer. They didn't get around to making them, so they were passing the deer along to someone else who might want to be creative. But the girls fell in love with their new pets, and they came home with us. At co-op, Melia did some painting, and her paints came home as well. Paints + Deer. Fun at our house...

Melia: I am making this to be one of Daddy's deer.
Me: That's a great idea, hon.
Melia: That's why I put red on him. It's where Daddy shot him.

And laugh I did. :-) She will definitely be ready to go hunting with Daddy when she's old enough!

Tomorrow, Tomorrow....

It's only a day awaaayyy.....

Guess who comes home tomorrow!?!

And, for the record: the cardboard went out. And I vacuumed. And things are mostly picked up. But I do have 3+ loads of laundry to fold, which can wait until tomorrow, cause they're kids clothes... and the kids are in bed. Oh, and I did do three posts in Galatians, so only two left. Yea!

Tonight we went to dinner w/ Darc and Mom, and on the way home Kiera piped up...

K: Mommy, next time we should go to a great big restaurant. That one was little tiny restaurant. (don't forget to think "little tiny" in a singsong little tiny voice...)
Me: Which restaurant is a big one? (looking for a name here....)
K: BIG restaurants are big ones.

We are going here.

Great Wolf Lodge, Grand Mound, WA

I saw the ad in my new Family Fun magazine... we are SO going. Period. The reason I set up a vacation account was to provide for getaways like this :-) Well, that and someday I really want to go to Israel. Really really really. But maybe when our kids are older we can do a mission trip over there... Sorry, thinking out loud... or thinking with my fingers...

:-) I am excited. The only thing I wish they had was a childcare center... so I could make use of the spa...

Wrong

Picture this. I am shopping, with Isaac in his seat, in the top of the shopping cart. Both girls are in the main basket, munching on samples. A nice old man smiles at me as I round a corner and comments on what a full cart I have. I smile back and say something about not much room for groceries... The lady he's with glances at us, and without a smile, says "Oh, you poor thing." Her tone of voice is neither joking nor sarcastic. She means what she says. She is a woman without joy.

I disagree. I am not poor.

On the contrary, I am rich beyond measure.

Blessed with what I do not deserve, gifted to me by the Lord of all creation.

Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord, the fruit of the womb is a reward. Psalms 127:3

Love it- Dave Ramsey quote

"The difference between men & boys is whether you put your family before your toys."
– Dave Ramsey

Let's say a little progress...

The Vitamixes did go away. But the cardboard is still there. The kitchen counter is now clean, sort of. Organized anyway! Plus 3 more load of clothes. And we did get to Albies and Costco. And dinner with Papa and Grandma, Darcy, and Gma&Gpa Elliott. Busy! All three of them were asleep when we arrived home; I was able to bring all the groceries in before getting them out of the car. (Some almost always sit there for a day or two- I have to prioritize what comes in when, cause someone always needs fed, put to bed, changed, what ever...)

Now, I want to go to bed, but Gabe reminded me on the phone that I need to do some more posts in our Galatians class. We are to the end, but I have 5 posts I still have to complete before I take the final. So my goal is to do at least one tonight. Maybe two, if I get on a roll...

Tomorrow: Get that cardboard cut up and out of here!

Because some of you did ask :-)

I cleaned the master bath yesterday. Not truly deep (that would have included organizing the shelves- yuck), but thorough anyway. Then I moved outward into our bedroom, cleaning up the real mess on HIS side of the bed :-). I've done 5 loads of laundry, and it took 4 to get through the pile! One more to finish up our laundry, then on to the girls'.

Plan is tomorrow to attack the counter in the kitchen, and maybe, just maybe, burn a bunch of cardboard in our burning barrel. Or does anybody I know with a wood burning fireplace want some cardboard? (We have a pellet stove.) OH- if nobody wants it, I'll take it out to the barn so he can burn it in the stove out there. WOOHOO- that is a huge pile in our main area! And tomorrow it will be GONE! And I'm moving those Vitamixes too. Ok, so kitchen and entry-family room. That is the PLAN! (plus costco and albies thrown in, after Isaac's always long morning nap...)

See. Progress. Yea me!

And by the way, if you haven't seen our mess, let me quote my dear friend Brooke when she saw it.... "It looks like a hunter walked in and exploded!" (I just loved that. It justified my frustrations!)

Plus, if you remember to include me in your prayers... I was pretty down yesterday. Tired, plus missing Gabe. A whole week is hard. And yes, I feel somewhat guilty verbalizing this considering Matt (bro-in-law) has to be gone for MUCH MUCH longer. But that doesn't make it less easy, it just makes me appreciate that hunting season is only a few weeks, not months. And helps me in how to pray for Darcy (and soon, Marissa).

Ugh.

I hate it when I start off so strong... and then falter. I was picking up like crazy yesterday after he left, but then had to go to work... and crashed. So tired. So tired this morning. CanNot get motivated... It's almost noon, and I can only list these done so far...

Ordered gifts online (actually took forever...)
Made waffles for breakfast
Fed Isaac... twice
Started cleaning the bathroom...

I just can't decide if I want to deep clean the bathroom, or surface clean it and then put more stuff away. I know, I'll do the bathroom really good, and that will motivate me, right? :-)
I'll give it a shot anyway...
But what I really wanted to do is deep clean the kitchen...

Will You Be My Accountablity Partner?

Not in the normal sense of the position, but without sharing details, I have a a specific amount of time which would be very useful in my attempt to clean/organize/tidy.

Would some of you be willing to email or comment with encouragement during this time? I know keeping busy will help with the missing part, but it's easy to keep busy doing other things, instead of being productive like I want to. I've been doing ok with the tidying part, but getting a hold of the organizing has been more difficult. He has so much stuff, all I can even do is put it in boxes so he can organize it. But at least right now, there won't be an "influx" of more clutter from his person.

My goal would be to have the main living part of the house de-cluttered by the time he returns. Unless of course... he gets something and I decide to haul the kids 6 hours away to celebrate with him. Which I very well might.

Anyway. Just a thought. And a goal. Motivate me, will you? I've done a bit this morning, but have to work today. Off we go...

And, more pics...

Some fun ones... And for those of you whom I told about the picture that I thought looked like my dad, it's this first one... Just evidence that Isaac did come from my side too, even though he looks so much like his daddy :-) Plus... that hair looks like it may still be on the orangy side of blond...

This one looks TONS like one we had of Melia making the same face!

Pretty girls...

Kiera's Chore

"Mommy, can I fold your bed?"

Leapster

I am not a fan of video games. For one, I pretty much suck at them. Two, I think they can be a huge waste of time. I told Gabe a long time ago that I would prefer not to have our kids play video games. They need to be active, playing and learning, and being kids! (Note: Gabe does have an XBOX. And a farm on Farmville... which I struggle with holding my tongue against. Ask him. "Struggle" may not be a strong enough word... but I do try.)

But last summer he found a Leapster at a yardsale, with a game. It has sat around for several months because I am not going to take the time to figure out how to work it... I'm impatient like that. He's played it a few times with Melia. I guess. I don't even think I was around. :-)

This weekend, she asked him if she could play it. He said he didn't know where it was, but she piped up that she did! Long story short, I was pleasantly suprised. And unfortunately, not suprised. She plays it well. Kiera, kinda. Kiera can even sit and watch her play for a while. And they are learning by playing it. Today, Melia was counting by fives. And she doesn't even know her numbers by sight! (She can count, she can add, but she can't look at a 7 and say it's a seven. Or pick out an 8 in a bunch of numbers.)

The not suprising part? She wants to play all the time. And wants to tell Kiera how to play, so Kiera doesn't even want Melia to watch her... AT ALL. I did go to clubhousejr.com (found it in our magazine Brenda!) where there are some little games they can play. Memory is good- they can learn to use the mouse, moving it and clicking on squares. Melia was doing puzzles, under the Frog Mazes button. And a few others.

So, I am stretching myself. It's not such a waste of time, as long as it's supervised and limited. Let me capitalize that. LIMITED. There. That's better. I did splurge and buy the Kindergarten game for the Leapster... I am annoyed that I had to get it off Amazon because the only ones they have in the store are the copyrighted characters. But I digress...

Oh, and did I mention how quiet they are when they play on it? yes... quiet. Perfect for when Daddy is sleeping. Or mommy. Not that mommy sleeps. But she does dream of one day being able to sleep... hmmmmzzzzz ;-)

And by the way, I am open to your thoughts on the subject. I know I am just one person with an opinion, which doesn't seem to match the rest of the purchasing power out there... So I know there are other opinions that you all have... :-) Share away. Especially if it has to do with regulating time on the game... finding good deals (because I'm just plain always interested in that)... and recommending games that are more worthwhile to play. Like NOT the pet pals... I don't think they really need to learn how to raise a pet. We do have chickens after all.

Weird Feeling

Tonight, the kids and I made a final run to Albertsons to take one more advantage of their current (at least for 2 more hours) catalina promo... And take advantage we did. Not more than usual, but somewhat...

As the cashier is ringing us up, she asks if I am attempting to do something, I didn't exactly understand her. I said, "the catalina deal? yes, we are." She explained that apparently, today, the catalina's weren't printing, so she would just take the $15 off my order, if that was alright... Well sure! That's just fine, same difference, right? We finish ringing up, she takes off the $15, then my coupons, then my doublers... Then my total is $9.44. I have $15 already in catalinas. I hand her two $5 catalinas, and it kicks out $.56 for me. "Have a good night!" And behind me in line I hear a "whoa...." I paid $0 for $56.78 worth of groceries, plus got change!

Now, this is not usual. But it's not wrong either. Had it been working, I would have paid the $9.44 and gotten $15 back again... It just felt really weird to not have to pay anything in cash for the groceries, even just a little bit... *grin*...

Antiquities photos

http://wenatchee.craigslist.org/bab/1458911129.html

One day left to sign up. This is the deal where you pay $10 and you get the sitting plus one 10x13 picture. They do try to sell you others, but I didn't find them irrisistible- easy enough to say no.

It's the picture we have in our living room of the girls.

Ziva the thief

Ziva stole a chicken egg off the coffee table. No, I won't tell you why an egg was on the coffee table. It's not like Melia brought it in, set it down, Kiera took it and washed it, then brought it back to the table, and I just haven't grabbed it and put it away... or anything like that, I promise. (Oh yeah, and it's been there for two days..) The point being, Ziva stole it and I spotted her running through the house with something in her mouth- Gabe snagged her in the kitchen and she spit it out... We both looked at each other with open mouths, thinking "She just stole a chicken egg!"

(Ziva's the doberman, by the way...) Why would she steal an egg? Yeah, if we drop one I normally let her come in and do the really gross clean up work... but still, a whole egg?

And before any of you give me grief about leaving an egg out... Martha Stewart says you can leave your eggs out. I promise. Like 10 years ago, but I swear, she said it on TV. So I leave our fresh ones out- not for a long time, but a couple days anyway.

Reminder: Christmas lists..

I am trying to add new things to our Christmas lists as I come across them. You can view it from the link on my sidebar... :-)

Real breakfast...

Kiera: I want my own pancakes... (after I had given her a bite of my leftover french toast)
Mommy: You already had breakfast. This is my breakfast.
Kiera: I was a REAL breakfast. The other one is dinner.


:-) So cute...

AW Tozer Quote

A.W. Tozer: “Nothing deadens the heart more than the continual handling of holy things.”

So true... We get "comfortable" with God instead of allowing Him to stretch and teach us, mold us and use us. Father, I pray that I will never "get comfortable!" Keep me learning and pliable so I can be of use for Your Kingdom work!

The Good Stuff

Melia likes to nibble the crust off her bread first. Not because she thinks the middle is best, like I do, but because she loves the crust.

This morning, Kiera decided not to eat her toast (which is not normally ok, but just this morning 'cause we're taking it easy on her tummy...). I typically give her the end piece if we have one, just because she doesn't know any better, and I don't like them. But I told Melia (who wanted seconds) that she could eat Kiera's toast, and she saw that it was an end piece- Whoa! It was like I had given her a treat :-) I never thought I would have children who would fight over the end of the loaf...

(And yes, Mom, I remember how we used to fight over the end of the loaf. But that was homemade... this is plain ole storebought bread!)

Kiera is better. The noise level in our house has risen back to normal... Pretty good, I'd say. A few hours of vomit, a day of fever. For being sick, it wasn't too long or yucky :-) Thank you Lord! Now if the rest of us can stay healthy! (I've had Thieves diffusing most of the time the last few days, so hopefully it wiped out any lingering bacteria/viruses...)

A little sickie update...

Kiera is moving along. No more puking today, or heaving, but she was running a roller coaster fever. Maybe. She was feverish anyway. Our nice Braun thermometer stopped working, so last time we had fevers Gabe picked up another Kroger one at Fred Meyer. But I got a 4 degree range when taking my own temperature... Not sure it's reliable. Or easy to use. Or... user malfuntion? I won't deny it. But I never had this much trouble with the last one.

Anyway, she sleeping soundly, and I'm off to bed. Good night.

Oh, yeah, I forgot. I had a moment of inspiration tonight at work. I've been wondering what I could contribute to co-op... Lots of subjects are covered, and I didn't know what different I could do.... And then tonight it hit me. I've been wanting to learn Hebrew. So I should teach it! What great motivation. I just wonder if any kids would be wanting to learn it too.... Apparently, if you learn pre-Babylonian Hebrew, (letters have not only a sound, but a meaning to each one) you can read Hebrew and be able to figure out what the words mean by the meaning of the letters. It is so fascinating! The cool thing is- Gabe mentioned this before, just offhand when discussing Melia's Spanish class at co-op- that if he could pick something for her to learn, Hebrew would be high on the list! :-) God is good!

Thank you for your comments!

It made my day. I think a great deal of it has to do with talking to other adults instead of children all day! And you are all right- the blog is for me and things I want to remember, especially since now you can have them printed. Hmm... someday.

Speaking of remembering....

Kiera threw up just minutes after we got home from co-op today, with no warning other than she had been pretty sleepy. She then fell asleep for several hours... then woke up and puked again. And again. And again. And again. And again. Is that 5? I think it was 5. Five or six times. Every 15 minutes. At one point I was handing her a cup of water to rinse her mouth out, saying, "Are you ready to rinse?"

She says, "Rinse the worms out. See, those are worms. And they're in my mouth..."

Oh. Gross. Plus, one time, she was returning to the pot in a hurry, and smacked her forehead on the back of the seat... Glad it's cheap plastic. :-) At least she's using the pot. For that I am inexpressively thankful.

Figuring out the difference

Between Facebook and my blog. More people on facebook. More people means someone out there will probably comment and/or like whatever I put. Or we talk about it in person. :-) Here... sometimes it feels like I'm talkin' to the computer.

Oh yeah.... I am.

Details of our day:

**Kiera bit Melia again. Again.
**Isaac absolutely refuses to "settle" when he's being held. 99% of the time, we have to lay him down for him to go to sleep. It's hard- at some point, isn't being held supposed to be a comfort? He just fussed and flexes himself back and forth, struggling to get free. How many parents have this problem??? Issue: what happens when you can't "lay him down" somewhere??? I would at least like to have the option of having him fall asleep on my shoulder...
**Melia wondered yesterday, as she's holding the phone after trying to call 4 different numbers to talk to someone... "I wonder why no one calls me..."
**I tried to make Hungarian Beef Goulash for dinner. But used venison. And didn't have paprika. Or one tablespoon of tomato paste. (why open a can for 1 T? that ridiculous) Added red peppers instead, and diced tomatoes. And rotelle noodles. Called it soup. It actually was incredibly good, and I will definitely make it again... but without red peppers. Not hot at all, tiny bit of spice, but Melia said it was too much. Sigh...
** Watched "The Proposal" tonight on recommendation. Surprisingly good compared to other chick flicks lately. I'd given up on them...
** I wish we could figure out how to have the stove heat the house up a little less. It's 78* in here now. On low. Low low low.

:-) Life. it just never quits. Need my perspective adjusted. Again.

comedians

I wish my mind was like a recording. The girls have me rolling with the things they say lately! I always think- "I've got to blog that one!" but quickly forget it because along comes the next funny statement. But here's one that had us howling last night at Gramps' house....

We're playing keep away with a bag of candy from the girls. (Mom, Celeste, Chelsea, Mark, Linda and I) Melia suddenly stops with her hands in the air...

"WAIT! EVERYBODY STOP! STOP!.... The chocolate's going to milk!"

(cluch chest, try to breathe.... )