life

I don't have a lot to say about life lately.  We've been enjoying the quieter, simple things, like eating dinner on the patio and feeding the fish.  It feels like the calm before the holiday storm hits.  Halloween at the end of the month, followed by a baby shower for my sister, followed by Thanksgiving, then Christmas, then a new niece!  

The weather cooled down for a little bit.  We wore sweaters and I made potato soup.  Now it's hot again (hopefully only for a short time).  We are wearing tank tops and I'm thinking salad for dinner.

 

Mia is still snotty, and I was beginning to get worried, until I stuck my finger in her mouth yesterday.  She has decided to cut all four molars at the same time.  Three teeth are through and a fourth is red and swollen. I had no idea.  You may present my mother of the year award now.

Laci told me this morning that I'm her "favorite mommom."  Isn't that nice?  Except I don't think I have much competition.  Still nice, though.

I got my mini pumpkins last weekend.  And some bigger ones.  I set them down on the hearth and within minutes they were toted away by a slobbering pumpkin thief.  Then I tried to get a picture of Laci and the pumpkins, except she refused and stole one of the pumpkins. I think I will decorate my house in a few years when pumpkin thieves are no longer a threat.

I have changed four poopy diapers so far today.  I usually take them directly to the outside garbage can, but today is garbage day so the can is still at the end of the driveway, and I don't feel like going to get it, so I've been stacking the diapers by the back door in the garage.  The smell in the garage will knock you over at this point.  I feel like it's important to share all the awesomeness of being a stay at home mom.

And well, I guess that about sums up life for the past week.  I feel like I can't top that diaper story, so I'll just stop here.

PS:  This is really what Mia's hair looks like in the mornings when she wakes up.  And I LOVE it!  Please disregard the bruise on her cheek.  Her sister pushed her and she clipped the window sill on the way down.  Yes, I was watching.  No, I did not stop it from happening.  I'll accept my repeat mother of the year award now.  Thank you.

the book pumpkin

I finished my book pumpkin. Isn't it great? Honestly, it didn't turn out how I had imagined in my head, but that's the case with pretty much every project I've ever done. And even though I'm sure there are tutorials all over Pinterest with informative pictures and instructions, I'm going to tell you how I made this one.

The concise version goes something like this:
1. Get an old book and remove the cover.
2. Cut the pages.
3. Glue the binding around a stick to make a circle.
4. Paint and embellish.

But no one ever accused me of being concise. Here is the long version of creating my pumpkin:

1. Get a hardbound book to use, preferably old, I think it just looks better. I got mine for $1.50 at the thrift store. It's an encyclopedia of sorts, which really doesn't matter, except that I like all the words and I liked that the edges of the pages were already a rust color.

2. Take off the covers.

3. Decide where you want to cut the pages. You could get all technical and find a circle template, but I just free-handed a round edge at the top and the bottom of the page.

4. Take a very sharp razor blade and start cutting the pages. I emphasize very sharp because I used a dull blade for the first few cuts and ended up with shredded paper everywhere.

5. Change a diaper. Fill a sippy with milk. Put on Dora.

6. Cut some more.

7. Change another diaper. Figure out why little people are crying. Supply little people with food. Lots of food.

8. Finish cutting pages.

9. Get a stick, or something to use a stem. I used an apple tree branch. Don't be like me. Find a stick or something that is straight and you'll save yourself some headache.

10. Glue the stick into the backside of the book binding and fold the binding around so you make a circle with the pages. You can also glue the first and last pages together to help form the circle. As you can see in the picture, I glued my stick in upside down. Don't be like me. Since I thought it would be better to use A LOT of hot glue, I then had to cut out A LOT of hot glue to remove the stick and glue it back in the proper direction. In hindsight, I could have left the stick in upside down and no one would have ever known, but that's the problem with hindsight. It happens after you need it.

11. Now here's the part where I lost interest in this project. You have to just start bending and pressing pages around until they fan out like you want them to. I used a book that has thin-ish pages and they didn't fan out the way I wanted. Don't be like me. Buy a book with thicker pages.

12. Turn your back for a minute and have your book stolen by your child. Find your book flopped over on the floor with half the pages bent and stuck together. Start the fanning process all over again. This step is optional.

13. Let your book sit around for a week or two or more before you finish it. This step is also optional.

14. Spray paint your pumpkin. I was pretty lazy at this step, especially since my pages were already colored on the edges. But it did add some strength to pages.

15. Embellish as desired with various items that can be found at the Dollar Store, but can also be found at stores not coated with mystery stains and foul smells, such as Michaels or JoAnn's or even Walmart (ugh).

16. Find a place to display your cute new pumpkin. Decide it looks best on the hearth. Leave it unattended and your toddler will start to eat the berries. Remove it from the hearth and look for a much safer, and higher, location for the pumpkin to reside.

I'm still working on that last step. Now go make a pumpkin of your own, because if I can do it, certainly you can too. Oh, and tell me about it because I like sharing.

tuesday status updates

The girls woke up entirely too early this morning. Which I should have expected considering how early they went to bed last night. I hope this means naps will also happen early, because right now, nothing sounds better than a quiet house of sleeping children.

I never did get to finishing that book pumpkin, or buying my mini pumpkins, or sorting Mia's clothes last week. But I DID clean the shower, which was a pretty big undertaking, and I'm only good for one big project a week so I think it all evens out.

The closest thing to Fall decoration in my house right now is a pumpkin candle I bought this weekend and a jar of candy corn. Baby steps for me. I already ate too much candy corn the past few days, so my teeth hurt, and I have been battling my willpower all morning because 7:00 is just too early for candy. Is 8:00 still too early?

The weather has been much cooler.  I haven't turned on the A/C since Friday.
Dear Fall Weather,
I'm sorry for being so impatient. Thank you for showing up.
Sincerely, Me

Mia is still snotty. Sooo. Much. Snot. I am so over it.
Just FYI, that is food on her face, not chunky snot.

Aunty Jenny and Cousin Bubs and Baby Justin (and yes, we really call them by these names) came for a visit last weekend. Baby Justin had his fair share of snot. I'm sure Mia's extra snot has absolutely nothing to do with her obsessive pacifier sharing. Oh well, sick or not, we love to see our family.

The morning light has been absolutely gorgeous that last couple of weeks. I love to sit, drinking my coffee, and just watch the golden light spill onto the open fields around our house. Sounds pretty poetic, right? That's because I left out the part where I'm drinking my coffee while standing at the counter fixing rainbow pancakes for a three year old that is impossible to please, while my one year old is throwing herself on the floor screaming because I won't let her empty the snack cupboard for the millionth time, and I'm wondering where that smell is coming from. Not so poetic now, or at least poetic in a much different way.

Seriously though, the morning light is beautiful. I wish I had a picture to show you, but I haven't taken one yet.  Tomorrow morning for sure.  Maybe.  I hope.  Golden hour isn't just at sunset. If you're thinking of getting family pictures taken this fall, consider doing it at sunrise. You will not regret it. Want more proof? Check out these senior pictures taken (not by me) at sunrise.

I am off now to do something really important, like switch the laundry or open a package of goldfish crackers or wipe a snotty nose.

{ sisterly love at its best }

shopping with the girls

These two girls are so different. And I'm not just talking physical appearance, it's their personalities, their likes and dislikes, the way they move.  They may have the same parents, but they are not from the same mold.

Case in point, I took them shopping at the craft store the other day. Laci could probably shop for hours. She walked next to the cart and examined everything on the shelves. She ooohs and aaahhhs and touches things (gently) and was soooo happy when I let her get a big ball of fuzzy rainbow colored yarn.

"I love this yarn mommom."

"What are you going to do with it?"

"I take it home and play with it. I loooooooove it," as she hugged it and rubbed it against her cheek.

I can't argue with that.

For the record, she "loooooooves" a lot of things these days. Horses, pink, dogs, her pink shorts, me, crayons, and pancakes, just to name a few.

Mia, on the other hand, has absolutely no interest in shopping. Or in any other activity that prevents her from running free. She must be strapped in the cart, securely, and not even food keeps her quiet for long. She chews on packaging, removes labels, yells, and generally behaves as any wild monkey might behave if forced to ride around in a cart for any period of time longer than five minutes. We were recently in a store where the carts did not have belts to hold her in. She did her best to climb onto the moving belt at the checkout, and might have succeeded if Grammy had not been there to contain her while I paid for our stuff.

I can only assume the experience I gain from learning to parent Laci will in no way help me parent Mia. But, it sure keeps things interesting.

PS:  Clearly these pictures have nothing to do with our shopping trip, but I think they are just too stinkin' cute.  And they really showcase their personalities, especially Mia's duck lips.  That kid is just too much sometimes.

on not blogging every day

There are people out there who blog every single day. I think that's a pretty cool thing. I sometimes wonder what it would be like to be able to go back and read something about each day. Then I remember that it is nearly impossible for me to blog everyday and I forget the whole idea.

If I blogged every day last week, the very condensed version would look like this:

Monday: I worked in the morning, we ran errands in the afternoon, including one horrifying trip to the Dollar Store (I do not advise visiting this particular Dollar Store in the afternoon, ever, for any reason, due to the uh, colorful? people that shop there at that time), and we finished off the day with dinner at my parents. Oh, and the weather was hot.

Tuesday: My mom and I attempted to craft a book into a pumpkin. A week later, that project is still sitting on my table only half finished. Laci went to bed with a slight fever. And the weather was still hot.

Wednesday: Laci was sick. And it was still hot, although we stayed inside all day, so it didn't really matter.

Thursday: Laci was sick. Mia started running a fever. And it was still really hot.

Friday: No more fever for Laci, but lots of snot. Snot and fever for Mia. My cousin Aletha came to visit for the weekend! And it was still hot.

Saturday: No more fevers, but some very snotty noses. No work for Ryan! And it was even hotter than the day before.

Sunday: No work for Ryan! A real weekend! Full of snot. And it was still hot. Like almost 100* hot.

Monday: Still more snot. And yes, still hot.

Tuesday:  Snot.  Hot.  The end.

Somewhere in there, I managed to get sick too. Except, this mom doesn't get "sick days." So, scratch that, I am NOT sick. I just have a scratchy throat and stuffy/runny nose and a little cough and am achy and tired and whiny. But not sick. Just to be clear.

So, last week wasn't exactly fun, but we survived and are still surviving. Seriously, does the snot ever end? And when do we get to have some cool Fall weather?

But it was nice to have a real weekend as a family, complete with spaghetti for dinner on Sunday. It makes me so, so happy to finally have our weekends back after months and months of Ryan working.

I never did get my mini pumpkins last week, so that has been added to the list this week. Along with grocery shopping and finishing the book pumpkin craft project and sorting through Mia's clothes because sister is getting so big. I always have big plans early in the week. I rarely accomplish even half of these plans. Like sorting through Mia's clothes has been on the list for at least a month now. Oh well. If there is ever an award for good intentions, I'm definitely in the running for gold.

And speaking of intentions, I'm going to try to blog more this month. And decorate my house all Fall cozy (even though it has been 100*). And bake. And then blog about decorating and baking. And yes, it is entirely possible that none of this will actually happen. Anyone wanna take bets?