Notable Moment

There are some moments that truly make all of the mommying worthwhile AND they help you forget that you are open to criticism 24/7 (my kids love to inform me that they hate coffee breath, aren't fond of my singing voice, etc.). Today at the park I had the good fortune to experience one of those breathtaking parenting moments. My three year old boy ran over, grabbed my hand, smiled up at me and said "Mommy, you're my hero." Really, what more do I need to say?

Construction

We made the overzealous decision to rip out all of the flooring on the first floor of our house this summer and replace it with bamboo. Since we were doing this, I thought we should paint first (in case we spilled - which I did, actually). I am so hoping that we don't regret inviting in all of the extra chaos, but mostly I am praying that we get it all done. We have a tendency to procrastinate home improvements (example: the paint we bought for our bedroom that was NEVER used - we have since had two kids, moved, and had a third baby!). Anyway, as you can see, the troops are rallying to help out. It has been especially fun ripping out the double layers of vinyl flooring in the hallway - we haven't even gotten to the kitchen full of it yet. Let's hope that we get it all done soon. Did I mention that we promised the kids a tree house this summer?

Life with the Kids

So, we've been passing the time here playing trucks and splashing in puddles. I have not been particularly creative, but I have been soaking in my ever changing 15 month old's personality. He's a stitch.

We've also been dealing with the aftermath of Singulair - my three year old boy seemed like he had a personality disorder on it. We will continue to investigate our options as we take him to an upcoming allergy appointment. A while back, a pulminologist had him on Pulmicort through a nebulizer daily, Singulair daily, and albuterol or Xopenex as needed. We'll see what the verdict is with the new specialist. I'm just hoping this person is more kid and mom friendly. I don't need someone telling me to pump a ton of medication into my child and then snickering in a self-important way as he tells me that this is for my child's well-being and he "highly recommends you don't read the warnings on the package inserts" when I express concerns. Funny how all the negativity surrounding Singulair came out 2 years later, huh?! Between the breathing issues and trying to seal the deal in the last steps of potty training, the three year old little guy has kept us busy around here.
Not to be left out, Princess Buttercup has been showing her personality as well. She loves to be the bigshot (she took the doll picture above) and has been helping out when it suits her. The other day, she helped me unload groceries from the car and informed me: "You can go in, Mom, I've got it." She's also on the road to developing a lovely sarcastic sense of humor much like mine where people aren't ever quite sure if you're kidding or not - interesting in a 5 year old. Yesterday as we were bringing her friend home, I made a wrong turn (shocking, I know) and turned around in a driveway. The little girl asked what I was doing and told me this wasn't her house. My daughter turned to her and said: "It is now. Your mom moved today while you were at our house." Totally deadpan. Her friend's mouth dropped open and I couldn't tell if she looked comatose or about to cry as I quickly let her know my daughter was goofing her. Apparently my responses (for instance when they ask me for a snack and I inform them that I will, in fact, never feed them again) are rubbing off. As I closed the door last night saying "Goodnight, Goofy," I felt guilty name calling for a fraction of a second until I heard her sleepy response: "Goodnight, Stinky," and my husband laughingly groaned: "Oh, God, she's you."

Mosaic Attempt

My creation, originally uploaded by herdoturtles.


As you can see, I was able to get myself so distracted that I have a blank!! This happened when I realized that I had put brownies into the favorite food category and I wanted to change it to favorite dessert. It is fairly ironic that the one spot that is blank is favorite dessert considering that I am known for my sweet tooth! Since I have sick kids and I spent a large portion of the morning figuring out Flickr and how to publish this to the blog, I better say goodbye to the computer.

Mosaic Attempt

Okay, here is my attempt at the mosaic I have seen around:

1. What is your first name?
2. What is your favorite food?
3. What high school did you go to?
4. What is your favorite color?
5. Who is your celebrity crush?
6. Favorite drink?
7. Dream vacation?
8. Favorite dessert?
9. What you want to be when you grow up?
10. What do you love most in life?
11. One Word to describe you.
12. Your flickr name.

I had seen them around, but the instructions were here:
http://lottielulu.blogspot.com/

Uggh, it was more time consuming and less fun than I wanted it to be!! Then again, menstrual cramps have that effect on most activities.

One gift, done

The good news is that I finished a gift for a friend just in time for the party. The bad news is I forgot to take a picture. Uggh. I kept trying to remind myself along the way and then I rushed out for the party and forgot. Welcome to life with kids, I guess!

I made her three aprons and a jar of homemade oatmeal pancake mix. Now she can cook with her 3 and 1 year old boys and not worry if they are wearing the results! I think the aprons were very cute, though a bit homespun looking (there is one crooked pocket and the waist ties are way too long, for example).

It was fun coming up with the idea and making it myself. I will try to do this more and more for gifts or around here.

I just got two full rubbermaid totes of fabric from my mother and aunt, so there is lots to choose from. Crying baby indicates a need to go now.

BAD Mood

Here is why I am grouchy right now: I attempted to make doll jeans. I was so proud of myself, I looked at a pair and made my own pattern. Then, I fixed the elastic on the pair that I had copied (before anyone gets mad at the copying thing - my mom made the originals), then I tried to do the elastic on the ones I made. This is how I learned that baby elastic is not so good with denim. Probably this would be a "duh" for some people, but I didn't know that. After SEVERAL attempts to make it all work, I have decided they cannot be saved. I don't even want to look at the sewing machine right now. All of the excitement has been sucked out of me. Maybe I'll go to Goodwill and buy some baby clothes for them to use.

Projects and pictures

Okay, so I have made the tops of two quilts using the online instructions I found here: http://www.capitalquilts.com/freeproject/infantsnug.htm. The one pictured is for my niece and the second one I made is for a friend's little girl (I'm hoping to make a coordinating toy to go with). I am such a newbie that, sadly, the second quilt is totally uneven across the bottom.

I also made the bag (pictured above) last week to give my teenage cousin as a birthday gift (I filled it with "beach" stuff like a beach towel, sunscreen, magazines, etc.). I winged the bag and was quite happy, though I have some changes in mid for next time.

I have also made a dress (out of our former shower curtain) for Princess Buttercup that went straight into the dress-up bin. My sister laughed at my choice of practice fabric calling me "Maria Von Trap" (sp?) and bringing up the movie Enchanted. Considering the sad state of the garment, I am thankful I decided to practice before using the fabrics I purchased.

The bottom picture just happens to be a pair of adorable tootsies that are currently at rest in my bedroom tonight so that I can paint his. No time to ramble today, it's 8:43 PM and I have to start painting a room. Goodnight (I hope).

Return of this turtle

Wow, I guess the blog is aptly named! Time sorta flew by. I think I got frustrated trying to figure out some blogging tricks way back in January and gave up! Also, I was spending an inordinate amount of time online and too little time in "real life."

Anyway, a tentative fresh start. I did make Princess Buttercup a dress out of a men's shirt following this tutorial: http://www.craftster.org/forum/index.php?topic=170402.0. It turned out super cute AND it is so my kind of pattern. I am such a newbie with the language of store bought patterns that I have abandoned several because I get overwhelmed. Add them to my "to do" list - I will have to enlist my mom's help.

I have also learned to knit since my last post=) I took a knitting class here at a local shop and started a scarf. Since then I have started another scarf and a dish cloth (notice a trend?). I did finish knitting two mini blankets for the kids' dolls/stuffed animals to enjoy.

I have also made two sets of basic cafe curtains for my sister's nursery. We are waiting for the arrival of her little munchkin any day now. She's been 4 cm dilated and 100% effaced for almost a week now! I think she's ready to give up at this point - the baby has decided to stay in.

I do have pics of the shirt dress on Princess Buttercup and maybe someday I will post them! I am still a little nervous about putting pictures of the kids online, so I'll see what I can do with cropping.

I am currently experimenting with yoyos. We'll see where it goes.

There, now, the post is rather dull, yes, but as I am pretty much the only one that reads it, I feel that I have accomplished the goal of getting back in the saddle - a more time consuming endeavor than I originally intended considering that I forgot my password and had to go through the whole rigmarole of setting up a new one.

Above, below, and beyond

At bedtime, Princess Buttercup and I often have exchanges such as "I love you to the moon and back" or "I love you to infinity and beyond" stealing our good nights from favorite books or movies. Not wanting to miss out on the action, Little Man said to me "I love you above, below, and beyond." How sweet is that?! When I asked him where he came up with that, he said "That's what you say, Mommy." I prefer his version to the original.

Welcome New Year

I am way too lazy to put a picture up right this minute, but I will get one of a project I accomplished this week later.

So, New Year's resolutions. I don't recall really making any serious ones in the past because I realize that you are basically ensuring that you won't follow them by making them into somewhat of a chore. But, I do always like the idea of setting goals (I know, not a big difference, but somehow the wording changes the feel. Anyway, the other night before bed, I made a list of craft goals for the year by month. I have been spending so much time surfing to get the juices flowing and considering all of the great ideas out there and coming up with my own that I get on overload and can't remember what I wanted to do. Of course, since coming up with the list, I have worked on two projects around the house that weren't even on the list.

My husband made me a shelf for Christmas so the kids could hang up coats and bags and we could have a handy place for hats and mittens. I wanted baskets and was not impressed with the price or selection that I found in the size I needed so I proceeded to get the other stuff I needed like baby wipes, diapers, and baby food. It occurred to me that the wipes containers were the perfect size, so I bought 5 packs, came home, stuck the wipes in some Ziploc bags, steamed off the labels, and covered the boxes with fabric. Perfect! Now each one of us has a little bin for one hat and one set of gloves. I actually remembered, and could find, my gloves three times yesterday - hooray! since my hands are so chapped my knuckles have started to bleed.