Carter Crew

Good times.

2012-01-14T19:56:00.002-07:00

We spent the last night at our daughter and son-in-laws house in Ridgeway, Virginia. We had a great time and I love that our children are similar in age so that they really enjoy playing together. We also visited with her half-brother and his girlfriend Friday evening and played monopoly and just had a lot of fun. Overall it was a great visit and it always is hard to leave since the kids have such great fun, but it's better that way so they keep wanting to come back instead of getting sick of each other!

I was able to start knitting on a shawl for a friend at church and got about halfway into it before we left Allyson's house. I really think she will like the shawl I am making and think it is turning out really beautiful! On the same note of crafting, I have been pattern testing a crochet pattern for a company in the UK and emailed them with some errata I found so I could get a response and finish the pattern. Well, I got an email back yesterday saying that they filled the tester spots and did not need me to test since I have my hands full being pregnant and a stay at home mom. Crazy!! They knew all this about me before I started testing at all. Oh well. Hopefully the next one will work out better. At least I get a free pattern from them for my time.

Along the lines of fun stuff, we have been thinking about buying a house for as long as I can remember and I think we are finally going to take the plunge and start looking. We would start first thing Monday but as seeing it's a holiday we are going to start fresh on Tuesday morning. :) I am very excited about it and have great hopes that things are going to go well.

Thursday

2012-01-12T16:47:00.002-07:00

Today was a good day, in a way. :) We started the day with eating creamy wheat, which Lily refused of course. Then we had scripture study and then some school and then got ready to go to the park for the afternoon. On the way, Lily threw a fit worthy of a king because I told her we weren't staying at the park for 2 hours due to her lack of eating her breakfast. So we compromised with her staying in the car for the first 1/2 of our park trip and then getting to play for the rest of the time. Then Gwenna and I had a date to food lion for some groceries and then to dairy queen for happy hour (chocolate malt for me, kid cone for her). Unfortunately, she's big on trading...so I got a kid cone and she got my chocolate malt :( Fortunately for her, I only got a small. We had a great time! I haven't had so much time with just her and have never been on a mommy-date with her before. The other kids wanted to know if I took her to a movie, which is what they always want to do on mommy dates.

I was supposed to get to video chat tonight, but I guess there was some miscommunication and she is not online. Oh well. I am sure there is some reason and we will chat again soon.

Along the lines of the new baby...I got some newborn and 0-3 month size white t-shirts for the baby on clearance for next to nothing! I was so excited and figured since my babies usually wear longies/shorties and t-shirts for the first few months anyway it works perfectly! I was going to get some of the onesies they had on clearance as well but I serged off most of my onesies when I had Gwenna I figured it was easier to just buy them as t-shirts! I am getting excited to make stuff for the baby but seeing as I don't know what I'm having, I am just making gender neutral stuff right now. We'll know soon I suppose...

Back at it

2011-09-27T13:00:00.002-06:00

We came to visit Allyson at her house today and she was telling me about her updating her blog so I decided mine needed at least a new post. So, here goes :)

We're here so our little ones can play with our grandson Trey (3) and granddaughter Jocelyn (6 months). Lily loves to be a little mommy to Jocelyn and it is so cute watching her read her books and try to keep her entertained. Trey, Gwenna, Noah and Lily have spent quite a bit of time playing in the sand box outside with Moon Sand in it. They love any chance they can get to be dirty! SO, we'll be here for a bit and then it's back to work with school when we get home.

Lily and Noah are both in first grade this year and now that Noah has joined the schooling team, Lily doesn't mind doing her school work so much! So that's good news.

There's probably about a ton of stuff I could tell, but I am going to just enjoy time with Allyson and her family while I am still here. Maybe I'll try and get online at another time and say more. Maybe I'll wait another year :)

Early Morning Time

2010-05-01T04:08:00.002-06:00

I just finished feeding the baby and re-put her down for the rest of the night...er morning. I hope she sleeps until about 7-7:30ish as this would be nice. Luckily Allen is home this weekend and he is super awesome about letting me sleep in if he thinks I might need it. I love him! Gwen has been going to bed around 9-9:30 and sleeping until about 2ish and then gets fed and then put back down until the morning! It's been so wonderful having her out of our bed as she is quite a thrasher in her sleep as was her older brother. It made co-sleeping quite more exciting than I was game for. She is still super snuggly and loves to sleep with me but all that moving around just keeps me up all night. SO, we'll see how long this lasts with the big move just around the corner. I hope she doesn't regress too much. On that same note, I am not expecting much out of Noah for potty training right now either since I am sure he will regress with the move as well. So, diapers it is for now and that's OK with me. I am sure he will not be wearing diapers to Kindergarten! Well, who cares if he does since he's going to be home-schooled! :)

Things are moving along quite nicely for the move. I have spoken with a lawyer regarding the custody situation with my oldest and things are looking non-complicated. :) That's the best I can do for legal matters...nothing is easy or fun. I have been going through stuff like crazy and taking all kinds of things to good will. I have also been trying to deep clean the house in preparation for the move as well. I think I'm going to tackle the blinds this weekend and I know Allen and I are going to change the oil (and air filters) in both vehicles as well. Lets hope for decent weather shall we?? I also believe we are going to be taking down the trampoline and very sadly, going to be selling it. The children are heartbroken about that...we might possibly be able to keep it but who knows. We shall see I always tell them.

On a spiritual note, I was reading my scriptures yesterday and realized that I need to be as pro-active with my spiritual learning as I am with my regular learning. I make it a point to work on my schoolwork everyday and I need to start doing the same for my spiritual education. It will help all aspects of my life to improve I know that! And I can use all the parental help I can get!! It has been so difficult lately for Noah with the big move coming up (change), a new baby coming and trying to potty train. He just doesn't have any control over anything and he struggles so hard with that and it makes him so moody and temperamental. I do what I can to ease his frustration and give him lots of extra snuggles and it helps but sometimes he just needs to go in his room and cool off...and what's cool is that he knows this too and will tell me he wants to go in his room and calm down. :) I have such amazing children!

The other night we were having family night and playing the bug game "cootie" and Allen was bugging (lol literally) Lily about something and when he asked her something she told him, "We are not having this conversation!" I about died!!! I could totally see myself saying that same thing to someone and so I know she got that from me. So I'm going to be more careful about what I say around the kids...I really didn't like her being so testy with her daddy and later we politely explained that saying things like that is kinda rude and she should choose her words more carefully. We'll see! It is quite the wake up call when you hear your babies repeating what you have not-so-carefully chosen to say!

Alrighty, enough time wasting! Off to bed!

New Beginnings continued :)

2010-04-24T08:05:00.002-06:00

Allen is still in the National Guard but will be on his last drill in May or early June depending on when the military dictates. We have had a great time while he's been in and have enjoyed the beneficial aspects of the military and the camaraderie of it all. I know he has also made some good friendships that will last. He has been working full time for the guard as a civilian on the local military base during the week and has done that for the past 2 years. He is looking forward to finding another job that is rewarding and hope that it can pay well too! :)

Rebecca is busy with the kids and now is in school as well online through American Military University. I am studying Psychology and am really enjoying being busy with that and learning new things. It takes a lot more work than I realized at the start of it but it's fun and worth it. The classes are only 8 weeks so they don't have time to get too boring or monotonous. I am also almost 8 weeks pregnant :) so that adds a whole other fun side to most things right now. Luckily I have not been sick at all and hope (knock on wood) it stays that way! I would love to have an illness free pregnancy! I am due around the beginning of December but if this baby is anything like Gwen, I might deliver on Christmas day! (I hope not...) I also just finished up an LDS institute class on Positive Parenting and it was absolutely fabulous. I learned so much and gained a lot of insight into parenting with love and respect and discipline and hope that I can keep implementing the ideas now that the class is over and I am not regularly reminded. We shall see but I believe I have a good start.

Allyson and Brian just bought their first house in Ridgeway, Virginia and I look forward to getting to visit them. We are hoping to get to visit a lot of relatives here very soon since we are planning to move to Virginia the 2nd week of June (tentatively). Allen has already started job hunting and will hopefully have some interviews and offers sometime soon! The kids and I will be staying in West Virginia with my sister and her boys while Allen starts work and gets situated with that. Hopefully things will go smoothly so we can settle near relatives and raise our family. Things have worked out so far for this to happen and we are continually blessed by our decision to move. It is going to be a tough move for everyone but we believe it is what we are supposed to do for our family.

If you've read this far...thanks :) I hope everyone is doing well and we love y'all! I hope to update again sometime soon! Take care!

New Beginnings

2010-04-23T16:37:00.002-06:00

Things have changed in our family since I last posted about a year ago! I had a little girl last July 13. She joined our family about 3 weeks past her due date, which was a little frustrating but when she did make her debut, she came very quickly into daddy's waiting hands making the wait all worthwhile. It was a very relaxing and rewarding birth for both of us and will probably go to a birth center again next time.

Belle is in 1st grade this year and loving school! She is reading at close to a 3rd grade level and excelling at everything (of course....she IS my daughter! lol) She has made friends and has another sister at her dad's house as well. She is now among all the siblings on both sides, number 2 of 7! She has quite the family :) She is so sweet and helpful and silly at times. She is a joy to be around and we absolutely love having her as part of our family.

Lily is taking ballet this year and has another recital on June 5. They are doing "Alice in Wonderland" and it should be quite fun. Lily just loves performing and cannot wait to be on stage again. She will be 5 in May and will be starting kindergarten this fall. Of course we are homeschooling so she won't actually be attending anywhere (which breaks her heart) but we feel very strongly about it and so that's the story. She loves to learn and we like to read chapter books together at nights so she can use her imagination and expand her vocabulary. I stop every now and then and talk about the story so far so she understands. It is really fun time together for us. Lily loves to play outside and especially loves jumping on the trampoline. Her and Noah get along quite well but tend to fight as if they are the same age since they are the same size.

Noah is fascinated by things that go. Mainly airplanes and trains but it's not because of any character, it's just because he likes them. He has no idea who Thomas the Tank Engine is and will just call him a choo choo train like any other! :) We are going to take him on a train ride in a couple weeks and am sure he's going to have a great time. He loves to learn as well and has known his alphabet for about 2 years now and is starting to spell words on his own. We are so proud of him and am always trying to encourage him in his learning. His favorite book is either "The Gruffalo" or "Fox in Socks" after his mom :) before long he's going to be reading to us!

Gwen is crawling all over the place and getting into everything knee high and below. She especially likes to unload the bowls and tupperware lids in the kitchen. She does this probably 2 or 3 maybe more times every day. She likes to eat table food and at 9 months, hasn't touched baby food for 2 months! She is very active and lovable. She is a daddy's girl and prefers him just about 90% of the time. Of course if daddy could nurse her, she'd have no inclination to leave him at all! Luckily she is getting more and more independent and doesn't mind being put down to explore so much. She's pushing a cart thingy around regularly now so it will only be a bit before she is walking full on. She also gives the sweetest kisses! Her vocabulary so far is da da, mama and bye bye. She also has her teeth coming in the same was as Noah! She got the bottom 2 and then instead of getting her top 2 front teeth, she got the ones to the sides of the top middle 2 so it looks like vampire teeth just like Noah had! Crazy genes...

I'll write more about Allyson, Allen and I later. Take care!!

Sweater formula

2009-04-20T22:10:00.002-06:00

My friend Paula gave the whole group of mom's that I hang out with online and in real life a lesson on making sweaters knit from the top down based on measurements. It was fun and I made a sweater for Lily's doll Courtney since I wanted to make something that I could finish up really quickly. Well, it turned out super cute and now I am making another matching (of course!) sweater for Lily and have one in queue for Belle as well...hopefully it will stay fun!! :) Thanks for looking!!

Spring Swap

2009-04-20T21:48:00.003-06:00

I participated in a Celebrating Spring Swap online and it was a lot of fun. I had a good time putting together things for my swap partner and I got a nice box of goodies myself. Here is what came in the mail:

a little bonus included, a barbie CD case!! :)

We took everything out and played with it almost right away of course! It was a lot of fun and the kids really LOVE sidewalk chalk...as you can probably tell...

Thank you for the package Alicia!!! We LOVe it! :)

My baby is growing up!!

2009-04-14T06:50:00.003-06:00

I just got Noah's 2 year pictures, although his birthday was over a month ago! Regardless, I am happy with the way they turned out. Here they are :)

and of course with the peanut gallery...

It doesn't seem like it was that long ago when he was just born and now he's totally his own person! Opinionated, temperamental, stubborn and quite loving. I wouldn't trade him for the world! I love you Noah!!!

Little Update

2009-04-10T06:48:00.002-06:00

Our family has been doing well. Not actually non-sick well, but doing alright. We moved mid February into a new place, a house! and so of course, that meant that we'd all be sick. Not sure why, but it always happens for about the whole first month we live anywhere. SO, we are just barely coming out of the sickly haze and welcoming some sunshine!! It feels so good to be able to go outside and not be freezing cold. I also got my garden tilled up and got some things planted; strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, lettuce and broccoli. I am super excited about that...

Last week I worked out almost every day! I was so proud of myself. Unfortunately I got sick again this past weekend and have not worked out at all this week!! :( I am going to walk this morning after I get off the computer but other than that, I've been sedentary almost all week. It's so disappointing to myself sometimes but I know I only have myself to blame. I just need to decide to do better and actually do it. I have seemed to have lost my conviction about eating healthy as well. I have overindulged my sweet tooth WAY way too many times this past couple weeks, which has probably contributed to my sickness...dang easter candy!! :( Luckily, we've decided that since we've had easter candy to snack on for the past month (thanks walmart for putting it out so early...) that we are not going to do anything sweet in easter baskets this year. Besides, they've been to an easter egg hunt already and are going to another one this weekend so it's not like they are candy-deprived!!

I herniated my belly button when I was pregnant with Lily and it only bothered me a little while pregnant with Noah and with this baby, it has been bothering me A LOT. I have such a hard time getting things done and it's frustrating because I want to get more done, but have to be careful or I'll regret it for the rest of the day. I also am not supposed to pick up my kids (or lift heavy things) and that has been the hardest part. Noah has been so clingy and especially being sick, he just wants me to hold him and it breaks my heart to have to tell him I can't. Of course I have him crawl into the recliner with me and I snuggle him a lot and he seems to enjoy that so it's alright. Things will get better and it could be a lot worse!

I also made the decision to go back to school. It's a decision that I keep putting off and making excuses about...not enough time, away from my kids, won't do well, not enough money...all the good excuses in the book. Well, it's now or never really. I am not getting any younger and my brain cells are dying! lol I have enrolled at BSU and will be attending this fall. I have scheduled my classes in such a way that I am going to be taking 1 course online and 3 classes on campus on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 10 until 4. That's it! Other than that, I'll be home with the kids! Of course I am also not naive enough to think that I won't need time to study and have spoken with my friend who is going to tend my children and will probably have her watch them on Wednesdays as well so that I am allowing myself adequate time to study and complete assignments and whatnot. I have committed to doing this and am determined to make the most of it and get good grades! I have a 4.0 in college so far and intend to keep it that way! It will be tricky but worth all the hard work. OH and I plan to either major in Nursing or Engineering. I am having a hard time deciding. Either way, they need similar pre-requisites so it's not emergent that I decide TODAY. I am really excited about it and am anxious for things to happen!!

New day, new things.

2009-02-11T13:31:00.002-07:00

Today Allen has a big job interview that could be an awesome job for our family so, keep your fingers crossed!!!

Other than that, we are just hanging out at home and trying to keep busy. The kids are anxious to go and play in the snow that fell last night but their snow clothes are packed until we move this weekend...so they just have to ooh and ahh from inside. :( Poor things!

I am finally feeling some motivation to get some diapers made for this new baby! We found out Monday that it is a girl and so I am excited to make girlie things. I also am motivated to make some boy things for a friend of mine who's having a boy...I'll probably cut stuff out and then wait until we are moved to actually sew it, unless I can get it all made in the next couple hours, which is not totally non-do-able. Who knows. It depends on if I can dig out my sewing machine and serger from the garage or get Allen to do it...

Well it's quiet time right now so I am going to go and put a movie in for Lily to watch. (her reward!) :) We'll just see if I get anything actually done today...

Btw, here's her hair for today...super cute I think!!

A very Lily-ish face :) I love it!

Candy Making fun!

2009-02-10T15:46:00.002-07:00

We made candy to give to our families that we visit teach today and Lily was so excited to help! She really had a fun time and we'll see how many actually make it where they're supposed to go...luckily we have back up valentines!! :)

painting in the contrast colors...this part was actually a LOT of fun! (she just wanted to lick the paintbrush!)

helping fill the molds

eating the leftover candy

all the candies we made pre-fridge...they are there now or I would have posted a final picture. Sorry :)

Today's hair-do is 2 french braids. I didn't think she had enough hair for this, much less enough to keep it up but with the goo I put in it and how tight I made it, she's had it in for 6 hours or so and it still looks great! Gotta love Garnier putty stuff!!

I still don't know why she doesn't smile bigger...she makes the funniest faces.

Excited about hair...

2009-02-09T09:13:00.002-07:00

I have been experimenting lately with my 2 beautiful girls' hair and have been consulting with other moms at church and even looking at a blog about hair! It has been so fun to experiment and do new things with their hair. Of course I have only barely begun so I am sure as they get older, I'll get better at it. I did what they call "smocking" in Lily's hair this morning and it turned out super cute! She was smiling before the camera clicked so she has kindof a strange expression...she was very happy with her hair though!

and yes I have a bucket of wheat in my bathroom...lol I have to store it where I can...

it's a baby! and a house :)

2009-02-04T06:18:00.002-07:00

I go to find out the gender of the baby in the next week and I am so super excited to find out!! I had thought maybe I'd wait, but Allen wouldn't have that. He HAS to know...and now that I know we are finding out, I am dying to know!!! I realize that I'll be ok with either a boy or a girl but it's going to be nice to know so that I can start making things that are gender specific, like cute girlie diapers if it's a girl or knit some super cute blue longies if it's a boy or something like that. Also yesterday I went to wal-mart and they had gerber onesies and play sleepers on clearance and they were all the color specific ones and I thought, MAN! if I only knew what I was having I could totally take advantage of this!! As Allen said, I'm sure there will be more clearance specials between now and June! :)

In other fun stuff, we signed the lease on our new house last night. We are officially going to rent the house down the street. (the one I previously blogged about) It's really a nice place. I am also glad that we didn't decide to go through with the buying a house thing because of our credit we would have just gotten our hopes smashed. We were going to buy a truck but because Allen has NO credit at all, they wouldn't even finance a used vehicle. :( But, this just gives us the opportunity to build his credit over the next year or 2 so that when that time does come that we want to purchase a house, we are ready and able. I'm also hoping to really start seriously saving money. We've talked and talked about it, but when it came right down to it, we just haven't done it. So no more talking! Now is the time for ACTION! :) It'll be worth it.

Whoops!! :)

2009-01-30T21:46:00.003-07:00

I've been busy making meals everyday and also stocking the freezer with meals as well as I will need them in a few months and it's easier to start stocking now and rotate than it would be to make a whole slew of them a couple weeks before I'm due. SO, I have also been having a good time experimenting with different sweet recipes since we have stopped buying pre-packaged any kind of sweet. (well really any kind of pre packaged foods...it really cuts down on our grocery bills!!) anyway, today I decided to try this super yummy looking Ginger cookie recipe...simple enough right?? Here's how it started off, looking great and the dough was yummy!

They look right, right?? Well, when they came out, I really was scratching my head...here's how they turned out :)

Turns out, the recipe calls for 1 and 1/2 sticks of butter (or 12 tbsp)...so me in my haste as I am making these alongside some super delicious cheddar broccoli soup for dinner added 1 and 1/2 CUPS of butter!! LOL They are SO yummy though :) They taste delicious and super buttery and they just crumble! But they are probably SO bad for me...

Better luck next time right?? :)

Housing Dilemma

2009-01-21T22:13:00.002-07:00

I have a serious housing dilemma. We are thinking about moving, which we decided we would not do for another year so we could save money towards buying a house, but we seem to have changed our minds. So I figured, moving = buying a house. Well, I guess not. I am just tired of renting. Especially since our family is continuing to grow and as we welcome our 4th child into our home, it's kindof important to have a place with more than 2 bedrooms. Not impossible at all, of course, but more enjoyable for the kids to be able to have separate rooms (boys in one, girls in another) but not their own rooms. I probably hiked around and saw 6-8 different houses today in my friend Paula's new subdivision and I really liked one of the floor plans. The others were either too big or just really funky. The one I really liked, of course, was the smallest one! I've always liked smaller houses. They just seem cozier to me or something. Or maybe it's just less to clean and I'm really lazy...lol When I got home tonight, Allen took us to look at a rental down the street from our duplex we are living in now and it was really nice. It has 3 bedrooms and 1 bath and a nice fully fenced backyard and a garage and storage building and a HOT TUB on the back deck! It's really nice. Also it's only $200 more per month than the place we live in now, so it is reasonably priced and the biggest plus, we won't have to leave our ward! I am very torn about what to do because I'd really like to go ahead and settle down in one place and never have to move again. Honestly though, I really enjoy looking at houses and dreaming. I never truly believed I would own a house, let alone a nice house and so neighborhoods like my friends have always been just that, a dream. But it was more than just a dream today, like we might actually be able to get one of the houses....it was unreal and very exciting. It's just a dream that I'll have to keep tucked away until the day we are able to actually buy something...and that day is not today. Which is sad, but in all actuality, I would prefer to live somewhere with some land, not in a subdivision. But if I did ever live in a subdivision, there's nobody else in the world I'd rather be neighbors with than Paula.

In a rut...

2009-01-16T07:14:00.002-07:00

I totally am...Of course it's because I haven't exercised in the past THREE days! There's been this thick yucky fog outside and it's seeping in and depressing me...I didn't even clean my kitchen yesterday, and I always clean my kitchen...I just feel like doing nothing...I hate that feeling, yet it comforts me by justifying me doing nothing. Does that even make sense? I have to go help out a friend today with her in-home daycare so I know I'll be leaving the house today. She doesn't live far so I'm debating just walking. It would be good for us to get out and get moving! I'm starting to feel a little bit motivated right now, and will probably start with my bed. If I don't make my bed first thing in the morning, I'm tempted to just crawl back in at nap time and get nothing done...I think it's calling me right now...I must resist!!!! :)

It's going to be a good day. I am determined. Besides, I get my daughter tonight, what's there to be unhappy about??!

Yum?

2009-01-14T07:47:00.002-07:00

I made some cookies yesterday with white beans in them. The idea really kinda turned me off to the cookies and even after I made them, I still didn't really want to try them, but as the entire batch was disappearing, I decided I better go ahead and try them before they were all gone! They were delicious! Not as sweet as regular chocolate chip cookies as all they have is 1 cup of brown sugar instead of that plus white sugar and they have no butter or oil in them. Instead there's 1/2 cup of beans! It was very surprisingly yummy. I was careful not to eat a bunch of them considering all the fiber in them...lol but Allen was not and after 6-8 of them last night, he's regretting it this morning!

I have been having a good time finding out more ways to utilize my food storage everyday and am super excited about it! I go to www.everydayfoodstorage.net and see what is listed today. They have great recipes and fun ideas. Thanks again Mom for introducing me to the site! Have a great day!

Family Pictures

2009-01-13T06:59:00.002-07:00

We had family pictures taken with both our families and also as a family with Allen's daughter and her family. I got the pictures the other day in the mail along with a CD of the files so I thought I'd include a picture on here of our photo :) It's nice to have one on our wall at home that is a half-way decent picture of our family. It's not often we get one of all of us! Thanks for looking! :)

Our little family

All our children

Our Oldest and her family

Amigurumi Fun

2009-01-09T06:19:00.002-07:00

I have been making crocheted toys for a while now and decided with Christmas here, to make a "reindeer" for my kids. Well I just finished it last night. Lily is thrilled with it. Belle sat anxiously next to me as I constructed each piece and put them together. Poor thing is upset that I didn't get it done before she went to her dad's this past Monday but I got terribly sick Monday-Wednesday this week so I really didn't want to make anything. (or do anything for that matter!) SO, here it is :) Thanks for looking!!

I really need to be better about this...

2009-01-07T11:42:00.002-07:00

I haven't posted in months and it is past time I did! I should do a bunch of catch-up posts, but I'm not going to. I'll just start with today! (or with our most recent snows) We have had several significant snows in the past month and the kids are having an absolute blast with it!! Dad even got into it and had lots of fun with the kiddo's. Here's some shots of our fun :)

This last one is a pumpkin machine?? Made by Lily: "it squeaks and turns off and gets water. My pumpkin machine makes it go and get bigger"...not sure exactly how she came up with a pumpkin machine using a pile of snow and a cloth wipe but that's the beauty of imaginations! :)

Feeling Better

2008-08-18T08:58:00.002-06:00

I was so sick this weekend. I think a lot of less-than-normal nights of sleep finally caught up with me and I crashed. I got sick Friday and spent all day Saturday at the Western Idaho Fair and then spent all day Sunday in bed SICK! Luckily, this morning I feel much better. Still have a cold but am feeling a LOT better. (thank goodness!)

On a fun note, my oldest lost her 2nd tooth yesterday morning! Actually I pulled it out because it was Barely hanging on and her new tooth was already coming in. She's super excited and we made a little tooth pillow for the tooth fairy. She got a 50 cent piece from the tooth fairy as well :) she's a happy girl today!

On a sadder note, she goes back to her dad tonight. :( She's spent the summer with us and now goes back to her dad's house and will start school a week from today. She's growing up so fast!!! We'll miss her so much!

Busy busy!

2008-08-15T06:17:00.002-06:00

I have been pretty busy lately. I have set a goal to get everything I'm giving for Christmas that is handmade finished by November 1st and I am doing pretty well...I think :) We are going to visit our families for Thanksgiving and plan to give all Christmas presents at that time. (save money on shipping later!) So we'll see if I can reach that goal. I sure hope so. I have finished quite a few already which is nice. I still need to figure out what we're giving a few of them...kindof the downside to living so far away is that it's kindof giving it away to ask. Oh well, it's the thought that counts right??

Another thing I plan to have finished by Thanksgiving is a quilt top that my family is working on together. Not one quilt, we are all working on the same one at the same time. It's going to be huge and very nice I think. I decided to show my progress on a separate blog for the project. Here is the book about it. It's called the Underground Railroad quilt and it's nice but very tedious. Well it is to me, someone who hasn't quilted before.

Since I want to get so much done, of course my body picks today to get sick. SO, instead of being busy today, I get to be lazy and rest so I can get better. I came home last night from a shift at the local LDS cannery with a sore throat. I thought it was just from the dry packing we did and possible inhalation of dust, but it feels like MUCH more than that this morning since it got worse overnight instead of better. Looks like I've got what my little boy has. Oh well, everyone needs a day off right?

Everyday is a new day!

2008-07-08T19:40:00.002-06:00

My sweet sister came to visit this past weekend and really helped me get started with my weight loss goals. I have wanted and tried HARD to lose weight and it just wasn't working...probably because I was still eating more than I should to lose weight. I was definitely eating better for me foods, but not in the amounts I needed to lose weight. Never really thought about that part of it...so she's been a big help and I got a jump start on my weight loss program. I have started keeping a food journal (as of yesterday) and am hoping to maintain it accurately! :)

My sister's visit was a wonderful time for all of us! My superman had Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday off from work so he was able to spend loads of time with all of us! It was especially fun on the 4th of July at a picnic and then watching fireworks in the local stadium, which were AMAZING!!

Daddy's Visit

2008-06-05T07:05:00.002-06:00

My Daddy is a Ham, as is my mom. So, when I became a ham too, my daddy was very excited! Excited enough to come all the way out to Idaho from Virginia to help put up an antenna and setup a radio for me and my ham husband! I was very excited for him to be here!! He was only here 2 days (he swung by here on his trip to take my sister to college) so we tried to make the most of the time he was here. I now have up and running a Yaesu FT-897 Transceiver

(with power supply)

I also have a super tall vertical antenna outside!

and a not so tall antenna :) (you can see the bottom of the tall one to the right of this one...)

Here's my Daddy with the radio
you could actually see the antenna out the window when I took this shot, just not now :(

Me and my Daddy
(photo courtesy of my little supergirl! lol)

Family Fun!

CQ CQ! Grandpa is that you??

wait...let me tune it up a bit...

We had a good visit and I was on the air last night listening to a couple people in NEW YORK!!! I am so excited to talk to someone far away....do I sound nerdy yet??!

Container Garden

2008-06-05T06:52:00.002-06:00

I wanted to garden so bad last year but didn't because we were "going to move" for a long time. I decided this year we were definitely going to have a garden, however it had to be in containers since we're renting and have an itty bitty yard! So here's it the day we planted...err transplanted :)

Peas and one cucumber

More peas!

Pumpkin and watermelon

Tomatoes!

a tomato plant on the "adopt me" row...looks pretty sad! :(

Well...I've been watering and feeding my plants and have actually added to this bunch a box of lettuce and another box with lettuce and strawberries! Oh and one more tomato plant, a cherry one.

Here's my garden today :)

One box of peas

Peas and cucumber

lettuce

lettuce and strawberries

Tomato and watermelon

more tomatoes

pumpkin

and our sickly little clearance tomato plant became this :)

So, all of this in about 4 weeks? Not bad :) I just hope I didn't squish things too much into the containers...I also really hope everything produces! It seems to be growing great, but you never know if it will actually make anything....

Having Fun and Being Productive

2008-05-30T01:47:00.002-06:00

I haven't posted in a while, but its not been because I haven't been on the computer..in fact, my time on the computer has actually increased, I'm ashamed to admit. But, I have been productive! I have sewn a whole bunch of stuff this month and I am pretty darn proud of myself! Here's a sneak peek at everything so far, since I still have quite a bit planned to make as well. (especially with Christmas right around the corner!)

My Amy Butler Messenger Bag
*very proud of this* I actually planned to sew the whole thing with a friend, but ended up finishing it myself.

It has a slew of pockets inside and out and here's a sneak peek of the inside...sorry for the poor quality photos...I only have my phone cam.

Two Bathrobes for step-grandchildren :)
-made these intentionally for my kiddos, but didn't have enough fabric to make 3 of them...so I can't just forget one of my kids! So I decided to gift them to our step-grandsons for Christmas! (well part of a present for them)

Two summery style dresses for my two supergirls!
-just made out of cotton and a simple pattern, I did not like all the gathering and am not planning to ever make another one like this! they do look cute in them though!

A whole mess of diapers
-I made a few for a friend and finished up a few I had cut out a while back.

cute model huh??

He recently discovered his belly button...he's forever got his finger in it!!

Princess dresses
-I happened upon a super easy pattern for a princess style dress that I decided to make for each of my girls. Turned out really cute!

Sunday dress
-I've had this pattern for a while now and finally decided to make it :) She looks so cute and I made her a matching bag!

I made a quilt, blessing outfit with matching bonnet, and a taggie blanket for our first grandson.
(once again, cute model!)

I've also made matching night gowns for myself and two girls, a new wallet for myself, taggie blankets for 2 friends and a cloth book! And all of this since May 19th!

I hope I can continue being productive and get all my fabric used up so I can buy more! :) just kidding...I just want to get Christmas taken care of now so I don't have to worry about it later. Plus I'm having lots of fun! :)

Ham Fest

2008-04-26T00:45:00.002-06:00

There is a Amateur Radio "Ham Fest" this weekend here where we live and I am so excited about going! I am planning to take my General Class license exam and even my Extra class just to take it and see how I do...I also plan to take pictures and browse the flea market side of the fest. They are going to have a fox hunt but I don't really know much about that and may or may not participate. We shall see...it should be fun though!!!

Sew Fun!

2008-04-26T00:39:00.002-06:00

I decided now is the time to get better at sewing so I made some things for my kiddo's this week. Mostly just basic patterns, but there is one from the "Ottobre" magazine which is an awesome sewing magazine! Sorry about the cruddy pictures, courtesy of my camera phone...

I have lots of plans for more stuff to come, especially with the summertime coming and my superkids in need of shorts and the like. I'll try to be better about posting!!!

KE7TBU

2008-04-13T00:31:00.002-06:00

Its my new call sign! I got my Amateur Radio license last Saturday and was issued my own call sign this past Thursday! I am so excited about it!! It is something I have wanted since I was a kid, I just never buckled down, studied up and went to the test...until now.

ITS ABOUT TIME!!!

Divorced parenting is the pits!

2008-03-01T21:40:00.002-07:00

My daughter told me tonight she doesn't want to come to my house anymore. I have visitation every other weekend and this just broke my heart! I realize she's 4 years old and she doesn't understand exactly what she said but it still hurt my feelings. She said she just misses her daddy too much, but will still love me and need me when she's living there...the things kids say...

On a lighter note, we went to our county's immunization coalition party today that celebrates getting kids immunized by awarding them with all kinds of goodies and prize drawings...of course we didn't win ANYTHING! :( But each of the girls got a balloon flower and their faces painted and each of the 3 kids got t-shirts too. There was also a goodie bag with all kinds of little cheapie toys and stickers and stuff. It was fun and they had a good time. Nice opportunity to tire out the kids!

Pants turned skirt

2008-02-29T23:47:00.002-07:00

I dyed up 4 skeins of yarn a while back for the Magic Yarn Ball swap and then decided last minute to go with the first 2 I dyed so that left me with some really pretty yarn. It actually had purple and gold and orange in it and it matches perfectly with moldova burgundy peace fleece that I just happened to have! SO, I decided to make a pair of pants for my little supergirl since she loves to wear her brother's "squishy pants" as she calls them.

Off I go...waistband to increases for hips....lots of rows of stockinette...ok now I'm thinking I dont really want to make a full pair of pants for her just in time for summer...and I really dont want to rip out what I've done...So I decide to just improvise what I've knit so far into a skirt!

Here is what I ended up with:

Not bad for the seat of my pants....lol I actually looked at several different patterns with lace edging and took snippets from here and there to make the lace last couple inches. Then I just crocheted a nice border after I cast off. I am pleasantly suprised with the outcome! :)

Silly girl!

2008-02-27T05:21:00.003-07:00

My little supergirl says the funniest things...here are some quotes!

Delicious = be-wish-ish

buzz lightyear = buzz ight-beer

chilly chilly = chully chully (she says it adorable!)

snake = swink

It was not an accident! (but it really was!)

I have that at my daddy's house! (copying her sister)

Yesterday I told her since it was Tuesday we were going to get half price happy meals at McDonalds for dinner. She said, "We don't have enough money for that, Mommy!"

She's always calling her brother, son. "come on son!" "No no son!" Hey son!"

When she got a pair of dress up shoes I told her those were just darlin! So now she calls all dress up type shoes "darlin shoes!"

Movin in!

2008-02-27T04:33:00.002-07:00

We got the keys to our new place Monday, so yesterday I went and took some stuff over. I also took some inside pictures for everyone to see! :) I realized as I uploaded our pics that I didnt take one of the inside of the garage...oh well. You'll just have to survive!

Oh and my little supergirl insisted being in most of the pictures! Enjoy!!
Living room:

living room birds-eye-view from loft:

Kitchen:

Bathrooms: (we have 2!!!)

Door to Utility Room:

Inside Utility Room: ;)

Stairs....

Up the stairs...

Rooms...

Backyard...

Mantle with my Willow Tree collection! :)

The little wolf on the left end was made by my little supergirl for her Daddy :)

Hope you liked seeing my house...

Holy crap Batman!!

2008-02-19T15:40:00.002-07:00

My little supergirl is really good about going poop in the potty. She isnt so good about going pee but thats another story...Anyway, yesterday she went poop in the little potty and I'm not exactly sure what went wrong but she came to me with poop all over her from her face and arms to all down her legs...and the bathroom looked like this...
(that speck on the wall is a little ball of poop too...how did it get there??)

She attempted to clean it up herself with EVERY towel and washcloth available, but only managed to spread it around...poor thing!

her tutu she was wearing...

So I took her and superboy and threw them in the tub while I bleached the floor, sink and toilet. It was a good try of wiping it up right?? :)

(this definitely classifies as one of those horror stories you tell her friends when she's a teenager! mwahahahaha!!!!) <--evil mom laugh

JEWELRY!!!

2008-02-18T09:31:00.002-07:00

My little supergirl got her ears pierced Friday at the Mall and she LOVES them! She keeps talking about her 'earrin's' and how it hurt really bad but its all better now.

Well, we were just walking around the mall and as we went into JCPennys right by the jewelry counter, she yelled "JEWELRY!! I NEED JEWELRY MOMMY!!!" I busted up laughing! what a silly girl. Now that she has earrings, she's been so prissy its hilarious! (see the photo below, with ballerina leotard and tutu on) :)

Moving again...

2008-02-18T09:26:00.002-07:00

So we moved here this past September because our landlord was selling our house...well our new landlord is selling our new house, so we have to move again!! We haven't had the best luck finding places, but that luck is starting to change...

We found an awesome place for really cheap and we LOVE it!! We are moving in March 1st and are so SO excited! here's a picture!!

I'll take inside pics when we get our keys before we move in...

Knitting and knitting and knitting....

2008-02-18T08:57:00.003-07:00

I have been pretty busy knitting the past several months....and here are some of my projects! :)

this was actually a magic yarn ball swap I did for Valentines day. This is the one I made...it had a bunch of stuff in the ball :) lots of fun!

Soaker for superboy...hand dyed the yarn myself. :) started and finished in December

Soaker for little superboy out of "firebird orange" peace fleece started 2/2 finished 2/9

pants out of "baikal/superior green" peace fleece...improvised the pattern, turned out good I think...lol started 2/10, finished 2/17

action shots!!

Forever and a day...

2008-02-18T08:39:00.004-07:00

Its been forever since I blogged...not because I haven't been on the computer, but I just haven't. So here's my first post in a while...

SNOW!! we have gotten so much snow this year...this last time we got dumped on and had about 2+ feet in our front yard! SO, we played in it! :) not sure how to get these pictures smaller...so just click on them to see the whole picture...sorry!

TEETH!

2007-10-31T22:52:00.000-06:00

Noah got his first tooth in yesterday! After being visible for nearly 2 weeks, it finally popped out! The other one will probably follow within a day or so, but for now he's just got the one. I noticed it as we were walking around in Jo-ann's and I stuck my knuckle in his mouth to calm him and he bit me! What a stinker!

Longies, knit of course!

2007-10-22T22:33:00.001-06:00

So even though I've been knitting for a while now, the idea of making a pair of longies has always been exciting, but daunting...well I finally decided to tackle the task and made a pair of longies! YAY!
Seems superbaby loves them just as much as I do!

Now all thats left to knit is a drawstring!

Supermom's Birthday!

2007-10-22T22:30:00.000-06:00

Saturday was my birthday and the girls got me a "build-a-bear" named Eenah Flower! :) I also got my own little cake and special cards from the kids and my superman. I love my family and I love being a mom.

Pumpkin Painting

2007-10-22T22:28:00.000-06:00

This past weekend we painted pumpkins with both girls. It was a lot of fun and they each got to do their own pumpkin. Here are some pictures:

Outside Fun

2007-10-09T22:15:00.000-06:00

When we moved here, we were blessed with some outside play things that the supergirls just LOVE!! What lucky girls!

Here's Superbaby with his super daddy!

My cute super kids!!

The Creation

2007-10-09T22:02:00.001-06:00

We had Family Night last night with the LDS Missionaries and we had a lesson on the Creation. So, after discussing the Creation story in children's terms (for the benefit of our wonderful kids) we "created" our own cookies! It was a lot of fun and the Elders Coffin and Weatherton were hilarious and had a blast!
MMM!!!

My little supergirl's cookies

Elder Weatherton

Elder Coffin

The Silly Elders eating Nerds and being goofy!

Cold weather = warm clothes

2007-09-24T11:24:00.000-06:00

ACK! Its COLD out here and my poor little superbaby needs warm clothes....unfortunately the wool pants I was making for him made me mad and I ripped them apart...:( SO, now to make him some pants and socks asap so he doesnt freeze would be good....maybe even a sweater....

now, to find the time....heck, I dont have to get unpacked from our move! I just need to while my time away knitting! :) yeah thats a good excuse.....

Move

2007-09-19T23:40:00.001-06:00

We moved last week and are steadily trying to get the house in functioning order...pictures to come. I thought I would just update! hope to get lots of pics of our new cute house up asap! I just dont want to photograph the mess!! :)

Picture Update!

2007-09-02T18:24:00.000-06:00

So I havent been keeping my blog up to date so here is a current wave of pictures! ENJOY!!

I LOVE my barbie!

Silly Girl!

Her "normal" attire

I have a NECK!

Such a Cutie!!

Calorimetry

2007-09-02T18:16:00.000-06:00

Knitted this one day for the little supergirl! She has a hat and shoe fetish so what am I to do?? give in of course!!

Family Night to Dye For!

2007-08-14T19:09:00.000-06:00

We did tie-dye last night for Family Home Evening and it was quite fun for all! Here are some pics of the process and results! Enjoy!

Getting ready...dont look at our outfits...lol

Helping direct the dye to the right place...or so we don't all get colored!

Even Superdad was in on it!

Here is all of it bagged up....ready to set overnight.

Our oldest with the 2 playsilks we dyed, looking cute as ever! :)

Our other daughter's shirt and little superboy's onesies

Her with her shirt and mine (left) and superdad's (right)

We had lots of fun and only got semi-dirty....

School's in!

2007-07-23T14:37:00.000-06:00

Today is our first day of Homeschooling for our oldest daughter. We have decided that quiet time each day is school time since our middle daughter will be napping and not in the middle of things. So far, she likes practicing her letters, but only for about 5 minutes! Things are going pretty good even though her attention span is all of 3 minutes or so...I gotta think up other stuff to do with her to help her learn letters...she's 4 and can only recognize 3 or 4 letters...She'll get the hang of it soon!

A New Day

2007-07-20T11:08:00.000-06:00

This morning I got up, showered, dressed and got some milk at the store. Then when my superman left for a dr's appt, I semi-deep cleaned the kitchen and washed all the dishes and the sink as well. It feels good to get that done first thing. Now I need to fold and put away the laundry thats been sitting on our love seat for 2 days now...

Later today I am going to pick up my daughter from her dad's house! And we are going to go to a BBQ at our church when we get back in town with her. Other than that and playing with the little ones, I can just knit today! :) The house (minus the clothes...) is fairly tidy. Things are pretty good!

Our little-big superbaby

Me and my supergirl

Two of my cuties.

All of my superkids!

Kool Kool-Aid

2007-07-14T08:57:00.000-06:00

I made my first attempt at dyeing yarn yesterday with Kool-Aid! It turned out better than I thought it would, but not quite as I thought it would...but I still love the results!

Here it is drying in my doorway. :)

Here it is wound up

Thanks for looking! I plan to do some more dyeing next week with friends from my group that I hang out with. We'll see what comes from that venture... ;)

knittin needle times

2007-07-04T22:50:00.000-06:00

I learned to knit a few months back and have since been making wool soakers for my 2 superbabies who are still in diapers, cloth of course. Anyway, I decided to make a pair of shorties finally and here they are! Of course you are not looking too close so they probably look pretty good huh? Lets keep it that way....;)

In other news, today being the 4th of July and all, I decided that since my group of crunchy moms were getting together, I would make an appearance with my kiddos. It was fun and my little supergirl attached herself to a friend of mines daughter the whole time we were there and even as we put her to bed tonight, she was asking where she was...I guess 9 year olds don't spend the night with 2 year olds huh?? lol Anyway, we had a blast and even though we got some sunburn, including my little superboy :( we are doing fine. Now to go and set off some fireworks outside while the kiddos are sleepin....*evil laugh!!*

Bah Humbug!...split parenting stinks...

2007-07-03T10:16:00.000-06:00

My daughter has to go to her Dad's for 17 days tonight...she's excited to go and spend time with him, his wife and new baby sister (born 6/1) but I am going to miss her! My other daughter doesn't realize she's leaving yet and probably wont until my first daughter gets out of the car and we drive away. I only have custody of my little girl during the summer and so this is precious time we have to spend together. Right now, both little supergirls are sitting on the floor tossing yarn like a salad with circular needles claiming they are both "doing their knitting!" I love them so much and split parenting really does stink...Every other weekend just isnt sufficient time to spend with my baby girl....:(

Blogginnings

2007-07-02T05:18:00.000-06:00

Well here goes...I finally decided to make a blog to post pics of my family and creative interests that come from our home! This way our family and friends can keep up with our goings on more easily as well. Besides, this gives me an official place to brag about the things me and the kids make everyday! Fun fun! Thanks for reading and come back soon!