Spring Break

We are in the throws of spring break and I literally had no plan until late last week.  AH and I are entirely focused on a huge landscape project in our front yard, and it is the time of year when all the plants are in stock at the local nurseries.  We need to get planting (which we have been).   This lead to our spending the weekend finishing the job of removing the old trees, finishing the buying of new plants and trees, and planting it all.  It is a lot of work, and we are only about half way done, but I love the feel of physical labor and working with AH outdoors. 

 

In the meantime I quickly scrambled together a list of fun activities for the kids and I to do this week.  Monday was spent shopping for Mr. B's new scout shirt, badges, sash and all other imperative scout clothing.  Beeb's tennis shoes from the beginning of the school year are finally wearing out so we made a stop to get her new shoes.  Her only requirement was that they be some sort of neon color - we went for neon orange. 

 

It was a beautiful day on Monday so the kids spent the afternoon playing with all the neighborhood kids (apparently nobody went out of town this year).  This included playing in the mud and muck that is currently filling our neighbors ditch.

 

Tuesday decided to rain so instead of a trip to the zoo we altered our plans for an indoor location and the Pacific Science Center was it.  The PSC has a fabulous "Spy Exhibit" going on right now.

 

Pedal harder!

What's that smell?

 

Teamwork!

Oops!  It's not so easy all by yourself.

Does she know how to wash her hands properly?  She does now.

How about simulating a big gaping wound?  Gross!

We took all the station quizzes and Beeb and I made the honor roll. 

That's my blur on top and Beeb's cute face on the bottom.

 

The butterfly house is always a must see.  This is probably my favorite spot in the entire museum.

Beeb tried to rocket to outer space.

Mr. B played the piano for everyone to hear.  We'll get our practice time in any way we can!

This cool machine made musical noises as your moved your hands around the clear cylinder.

 

This guitar is a tad to big for Beeb.  Maybe next year it will be just right.

The ideas behind these bowls is to use the wand to draw out the notes as you gently brush it around the edge.  Mr. B decided it's better to treat them like drums.

On Wednesday we headed to Joint Base Lewis McChord to the Military Museum. 

We drive by this museum a few times each year since is right next to the freeway.  Mr. B has been begging to visit it for eons; today was the day  

Not sure it was worth the long drive and the hassle required to get a visitors pass, to even get on base, since the kids zoomed through the indoor exhibits in about 2 minutes.  However, they had a great time exploring the large machinery outside the museum.

 

 

It's only Wednesday and we are all exhausted.  I cannot fathom making it through the rest of the week's activities and continuing to work in the yard each evening (today I actually had to take a nap - but I was also up at 5:30am to fit in a run).  I guess what doesn't kill me will only make me stronger.  Tomorrow we are off to the Spring Fair!

Pinewood Derby Success

It happened. It finally happened!  Mr. B and AH were able to build the car that outperformed all other cars and took home the 1st place trophy at this year's Pinewood Derby. 

Sleek and simple, this year's car was named "Night Rider".

Mr. B excitedly accepting his trophy.

AH was a nervous wreck the entire time as he watched and waited to see if any other cars would speed past ours.

In the family race Beeb's car won the crowd favorite award for her car "Hot Diggity Dog".

 

It was a fun night and a great kickoff for Mr. B's 11th birthday celebration weekend.

Motherly Peace

This time of year is always very nostalgic for AH and I as we reflect on how our lives changed so dramatically back in 2003.  That was the year Mr. B was born, and that was when we were thrust into parenthood, ready or not.  I remember that morning so clearly; receiving the call from our case worker - her calling me by the wrong name, but then finally stumbling through enough dialog to let me know that AH and I had been picked by a birth mother, that she was in labor and had taken our profile with her to the hospital.  Disbelief filled my mind.  Was this really happening?  It was so sudden.  Our profile had only been out for two weeks.  There was a very high chance that the birth mom would change her mind so don't get too excited.  Prepare for disappointment, hope for a baby. 

We met him, our sweet new baby boy, just 48 hours later.  He came directly from the hospital with his birth parents and grandmothers.  We met with the birth parents first.  This sweet, very young couple.  So brave, so loving, so responsible.  I cannot, even to this day, fathom the strength and courage it took for them to place Mr. B with us.  To put his needs before their own.  I don't know if I am that selfless. 

The grandmothers joined us and brought a teeny tiny Mr. B with them.  He was quickly placed in my arms and I had my first glimpse of my new son.  He was perfection.  Everything I’d prayed for and hoped I could keep.

After that everything moved at lightning speed.  The birth family left, the case worker gave us the okay to leave, and then we found ourselves in the parking lot with a new baby and we were parents.  It was all completely surreal and felt that way for several days. 

Every year I rethink the details of those 12 days.  From the moment we got the call to the moment when we were finally permitted to bring him home and he was forever really and truly ours.  I love it – I love our story.

That all started 11 years ago today.  I can hardly believe how the years have flown by and soon he’ll start achieving adult milestones.  It’s too fast.  It’s not enough time.  I miss my baby, my teeny tiny baby boy. 

Mr. B has had a fantastic weekend.  Last night was our last pinewood derby and Mr. B’s car came in first place.  He and AH were elated.  Today he had all his favorite meals, a party with several friends playing all his favorite activities, and tonight his cousin and uncle came over and spent some fun time with him. 

This evening I heard Mr. B calling out looking for me.  He found me on my bed reading a book.  He laid down beside me and told me that today had been a really awesome birthday.  He was very mellow, very content.  The warm light of my bedside lamp provided a soft illumination over us as we talked and cuddled.  I felt my heart fill, a perfect peace spread throughout my body.  This was one of those parenting moments that we all live for.  It too seemed a bit surreal – is this really my life, this perfect moment?  I’d better be present in it, capture it in my memory forever, and bask in his loving tenderness.  I know these moments with him are fleeting - I will treasure them always, hoping to stretch them out for as long as possible.

A Banner Year

I think everyone has that problem spot in their home that they find hard to decorate.  I have about five of them.  Specifically on my walls... too many walls. These walls are all very long and have no architectural element to help with the design jump off point for how to accessorize them at all.  Additionally, I don't feel inspired to put random meaningless art up.  I like pieces that have meaning to me or my family. 

 

One such problem area is my entry way.  It has three significant walls that need to work together.  Two of the walls I've taken care of, but the space over the bench has been empty for quite some time.  A few months back I decided to put some holiday decorations on this wall as a sort of temporary "hold this space" for whatever real artwork would end up there permanently.  Turns out I love the decorations, and I love that I switch them out with frequency.  I think my permanent solution is to dedicate this area as our holiday décor wall. 

For February I created my own version of the below wall collage that I saw on Pinterest.  I'd link to the website where this was posted but it appears to have a virus and keeps trying to load bad stuff on to my computer, so I will not share that kind of love with you.  (Note:  This is the image from Pinterest. I forgot to take a photo of the one I created - though it looks exactly the same except for my wall being yellow). 

 

In March I saw this banner idea on Pinterest and decided to make my own.  I had an unwanted book that I took pages out of for the flags.  I used my Silhouette Cameo to cut out the clovers.  I added some brown ink to the edges of the clovers, glued a clover to each page, and put a button in the center.  Then I folded top edge of the page over some twin and glued it into place and hung it on my wall. Super easy - super quick - super cute.

Last month I happened upon this cute fabric Easter banner at Target for just $6.00.  Can't pass up that great deal.  I'm not sure I like the wall hooks showing so I may have to swap them out for something less noticeable. 

My kids are loving the holiday décor change each month.  The neighborhood kids think I am this amazing-crafty-crazy-holiday-decorating lady, even though the only holiday decorating I do is this area over the bench and perhaps a wreath change on the front door.  Kids are so easy to impress.  I wish we could all be like kids.

 

Lanie's Quilt

The beauty of the PNW doesn't come without a price.  The lush green landscape is a result of rain for the better part of the year.  It seems that the worst of the grey skies and continuous precipitation is during late winter/early spring.  These months following Christmas to May are the hardest time of the year for me to live here.  The constant grey really gets to me during these months and I end up all mopey and wanting to move.

 

This past week we had several days of non-stop, hard rain followed by 2 days of beautiful sunshine (sweet!) and one day of clouds.  On Sunday the hard rains returned and made for a dreary afternoon in our house.  It's hard to be motivated with all the gloom outside.  I decided to perk myself up and do some crafting.  Looking round my craft room I spied some wonderful fabric and thought I ought to make Beeb a little quilt for her American Girl doll out of my leftover quilt scraps. 

 

I did it and it only took about 4 hours (and that's hand stitching the binding!) and was 100% made from scrap fabrics I had on hand.

 

I think Lanie likes it.

 She's getting cozy so it must be a winner.

 

She's decided to take a nap with her new quilt while she waits for Beeb to get home from school.

 

I needed a fun little sewing project to do yesterday.  It's interesting how working with brightly colored fabric can help me feel happier.

Homeschool Shenanigans

Mr. B working hard on his math.

 

What a great attitude!

 

I can hardly believe how these hands have grown since infancy, when he needed to hold my hand for nearly everything and he could only grip one or two of my fingers at a time, to this pre-teen stage where his hands are nearly the same size as my own.  Thankfully he still likes to hold my hand.

 Notice anything different? 

Yep, he got braces last week. 

 

Looks like he needs to make sure to brush his braces after lunch.  Gross!

Apparently he also agrees that it's gross.

I love this sweet young man of mine!

The After Photos

A long time ago, in a galaxy far far away, I started an update of Beeb's bedroom.  I posted pictures of the chaos during the painting process but haven't followed up with the "after" shots.  Wait no more, the pictures have finally arrived. I spent a few days this week cleaning up the space to make it presentable for photos, but in reality it is a lived in space and not some high end designer "no clutter, perfectly staged room because no child actually lives or plays here" room. 
This is real... except that it's clean for once.

Beeb wanted her walls painted turquoise.  Mom vetoed that option and we settled on a neutral grey with turquoise and red accents - all colors pulled from her quilt that was made by my awesome neighbor... because she's just that nice.

 

Here is my favorite photo of Beeb as a baby.  The photographer was amazing and actually got her to give her first full belly laugh that she was quickly captured.  Good memories.

Another sweet friend, who was Beeb's primary teacher the year she was baptized, embroidered the cute note in the turquoise frame.  It reads "I belong to the church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints" followed by her name and baptism date on the bottom line.  So lovely!

 

One of my more favorite aspects of her room are these butterflies that are climbing the wall.  I used various scrapbook paper and my Silhouette Cameo to cut out different shapes and sizes of butterflies.  They are adhered to the wall using dimensional stickers.

 

 

I have a collection of frames in my craft room that sometimes threaten to take over the house.  I love them and will scour garage sales for them.  I painted this frame to match her room, attached chicken wire, and now it is a cute place for her to clip her favorite little photos, phrases, or drawings.

 

 

 

 

One of the great features of the internet is the easy access to the talented, artistic people who are willing to share.  For this arrangement I found the two posters on a blog where they were downloadable for free.  I keep a file on my computer with all these types of "freebies" and then print them out when I want to use them.  Cheap art is so cool! 

 

Yes I see that the frames are crooked.  I fixed it - I promise (after I took the photo).
    

  

 

I love this little flower.  My SIL brought back these cool building tiles from Japan as a gift for Beeb and they have become one of our most favorite creative toys.  Their shapes can be straight, angled, round, etc.  The design possibilities are limitless.  

 

I have always really hated the closet doors in the original part of our house.  However I don't hate them enough to replace them, and really they aren't that bad, just dated.  I wanted to do something with these doors so that they wouldn't just be plain ol' white doors.  I saw this idea on Apartment Therapy and immediately knew that I would copy the idea for Beeb's closet doors (Who doesn't love The Giving Tree, or Shel Silverstein?).  I borrowed a friends projector, traced the image onto the doors and then followed up with black craft paint.  I love it!  I don't love the shelves to the right of the closet.  Well the shelves are find, but the random collection of stuff that doesn't really coordinate bothers my brain, but a real live little girl lives in this room and she gets some say so too (maybe... just a tad). 

Note Beeb's Minecraft Creeper helmet on the top shelf.  She made it for her costume this past Halloween.  She was so clever in her design, and very patient as she glued all those squares onto the box.  It is one of my favorite costumes to ever walk out our door on Halloween night.

That's it for now. 

 Perhaps this summer I'll get the desire to paint the bed and dresser... but don't hold your breath.

Mini Me

This is how we find Beeb many a night.

 

She may look like her daddy, but she definitely has a fair share of me in her as well.

Oh Baby.... Quilt

A few years back I discovered the joy of small simple quilting projects.... baby quilts.  It has now become my "go to" gift for friends who are expecting.  As much as I enjoy making these little pieces of art I always forget to take a picture of them.  Now as I am moving out of the baby years (and so are many of my friends) I have fewer and fewer opportunities to sew these blankets.  I came to this conclusion recently as I prepared to wrap up the blanket gift for delivery and realized that it had been a while since I had made my last blanket, and there would likely be another drought before I need to make my next, so I had better take a picture... at night, under terrible can lighting, on the floor in my office.  Oh well, hopefully next time I'll remember during daylight hours. 

 

I used a Moda Birds & Berries charm pack for the colorful chevron front, along with the Moda white charm pack for the contrast.  The border and backside of the quilt (not photographed) are from the same Bird & Berries line, though bought by the yard.

 

It's been a few months since I finished this quilt and I am itching for a reason to make another.  Anyone pregnant yet?