What the shell is going on here anyway?

Happenings this month.

2012-01-27T13:35:00.000-08:00

• Wedding. My nephew and his sweet wife Sarah got married three weeks ago. So excited and happy for them; they're a great couple. We had the luncheon after the wedding in my backyard, which I must say is very well suited for a big party! Food was great, weather was perfect. We hung around all afternoon and snacked on chips and played games. Fun. Favorite quote of the day was from J - he came up to me while I was sitting at the table and touched my arm... "Mommy I wuuuv you... (pause)... do you want a soda?" Me: "Why Josh, do YOU want a soda?" J - "Yes." It was too funny. Juliana's pictures of the event are super cute, too. I need to download my photos and edit them and see if I got any good ones as well.
• Landscaper. It was time to hire someone, since N no longer has time to do anything outside of work, let alone mess with our yard. The guy's really good - and so you get what you pay for, right? Once the yard is in shape and new trees are planted this spring, we'll be looking for someone less expensive to continue.
• Road Trip. The kids and I headed down to Safford the weekend after the wedding to attend the reception. It was decorated beautifully, lots of white, lots of Christmas trees with white lights and touches of purple everywhere. Nice. Since Sarah's Dad is a DJ, of course there was dancing at the reception. Got the kids out dancing with me and my niece Cherie - they had a great time. M's favorite was the Cupid Shuffle. Nonnie Jarvis was SO CUTE out there dancing! And yes, we did the macarena. And the electric slide. Which is kind of tough in a pencil skirt and high heeled boots! J kept vying for the attention of my camera while he danced.
• Painting. Of course! N is WAY ahead of me, and has finished rolling most of the main area in the house now, so I still have lots of ceilings/baseboards/door frames to cut in paint around to catch up. It finally looks like we've made some progress downstairs! Everything is looking CLEAN now, which is great. Once it comes time to do trim and doors and ceilings, I think I want to hire someone - I'm about out of steam to tackle all of that!
• Stitches. I stabbed my finger making dinner the other night and ended up at Urgent Care to get three stitches. The tetanus shot hurt for a good three days afterward. I guess I'm supposed to be keeping the stitches dry - well, you tell me how the laundry and dishes and cleaning and bathing and feeding of children is all supposed to get done then? Nope. I'm just trying to keep it clean. But dry? Impossible.
• Reading. In full force around here again. A hardly does anything else while she's home. I don't know how much she is actually comprehending when she consumes 300+ page books in a day, but she certainly enjoys it. Need to find some kind of incentive because I want her to WRITE something about each book afterward, to help with her takeaway. She is not interested in a mom-daughter book club, but I am!! Need to think about how I can get her on board with that idea. M has actually started reading a lot more, too. Judy Moody books are just about her speed/size right now. J is learning to read too! He is constantly figuring out the buh-buh-beginning ("B!") sounds of lots of words. Working on ending sounds, rhyming, etc. He has a hard time distinguishing between "b"s and "d"s and "p"s. And "g"s is confusing too, with the different sounds it makes! Giraffe, ring, garage... you know.
• Registration. My baby is all signed up for kindergarten, wow. Debating whether to send him half- or full-day. Wish I could do half for the first semester, and whole day for the second!!
* Shots. As of today J has been poked five times in the last seven days. He's finally all caught up on his vaccines, but the flu shot made him sick, darnit. He's currently taking a nap, enabling this blog posting session.
• Shutters. Aaaaah, I know it's a total indulgence, but shutters have to be one of my top 10 "things I love" in life. Seriously. Now we have two more in the family room downstairs. Which makes my kitchen look even shabbier! Ha. Love the quality of light in there now - just makes me want to lay down and read a book all the time!
• New glasses. Hallelujah, they're on their way. Hopefully I can pick them up Monday, if not today. Let's hope that I can actually read with both eyes open now. Just getting a new Rx, sticking with the same frames, heavens, don't want to go through that selection nightmare anytime soon.
• Gymnastics. We've started up again as of this week - this time including J in tumbling too. I'm going to take each month at a time, and evaluate whether it's worth it. For A? Definitely. The other two? Not so sure.
• Pool. We've started thinking about the "epic pool remodel of 2012". I have some fab ideas of what it could look like - of course, I have no idea if we can afford any ideas at all, let alone any of my fab ones.
• Vinyl. I wouldn't call it a steady stream of business, or even a trickle... maybe a slow drip? I've had a couple of custom orders each week keeping me going. As of this week I've gone international, ha, and shipped my first order to Canada. The shipping cost was more than the sign I shipped though, ridonkulus.
• To-do list: Lots of finishing touches: cutting in paint, a ceiling fan to be installed, outlet covers to be put back on, doorknobs/locks installed, outdoor lights put back up, weather stripping put on door jambs, smoke detectors installed, and finally, the last of Christmas decorations to be put away!
• Calling. This is more on the to-do list than the "happenings" list. I need to focus and have more of a plan/structure with these activity day girls, it's kind of a disorganized mess every time we get together!

A poem.

2012-01-13T12:28:00.000-08:00

Just found one of M's school papers. It's a poem entitled "Wishes"

I wish I liked chocolate ice cream.
I wish I were taller.
I wish someday my sister
would just be smaller.

I wish when I am at school
my class would just be quiet
I wish my brother Josh would be quiet
Just like my friend Whyet (Okay that spelling is hilarious)

I wish that I could read
Just like my sister.
I wish they wouldn't
Call my dad a mister.

I've got such heaps of wishes
I've only said a few
I wish that I could wake up some morning
and find they'd all come true.

2011 - the rundown

2012-01-11T18:21:00.000-08:00

Since I didn't get a letter written with my Christmas cards this year, here's the lowdown on what we did last year.

January saw us anxiously awaiting an auction on what we thought was our "dream home" in Tempe. Well, we didn't end up getting that one but neither of us was sad about it one bit - so I guess it wasn't our dream home after all. Just a couple of weeks later N ended up finding our REAL dream home - this time in Mesa, not in Tempe. From the first time I walked through it, I knew that THIS was the place we needed to raise our kids. January also saw me spending A LOT of time on my computer designing stuff for twovinylchicks.com, and even MORE time on my treadmill. I logged running more than 100 miles that month. Whew.

In February we said goodbye to Grandma Valentine at her funeral in Utah. Bittersweet, to know that this fine woman would finally be reunited with her husband, but missing her being around again too. Almost all the family was able to be there, which was fun. We're still laughing about some of those late-night games in the hotel room. We got to bring one of Grandma's dressers home with us to Arizona, which I've since had re-done and painted in turquoise. It's absolutely awesome in A's new room.

March saw me getting into packing/purging/decorating mode. Collected a hundred different ideas for our new house (and this was before I got on Pinterest!) Also stayed current on all things American Idol, of course. Spent most of Spring Break down in Safford, hiding out in Papa's wood shop cutting, routing, and painting a ton of vinyl signs. I also think it was this month that A got her braces off.

In April we finally got a closing date for the house, and busied ourselves with getting our house in Phoenix renter-ready. We listed it and only had one family come and look at it. Turns out, they are THE.PERFECT.RENTERS. We consider ourselves very, very lucky and blessed that we haven't had to deal with any serious rental property issues. I also spent much of April trying to figure out what school to send the kids to come fall.

May was a whirlwind of driving back and forth, back and forth from Phoenix to Mesa, taking load after load over to the new house. Also in May N went on a big business trip and left me holding the bag trying to coordinate a bunch of end-of-year activities at the school, and clean and pack up our house. I spent the last week of school commuting from Mesa to take the girls every morning and every afternoon. I still can't figure out how we got it all done, but that house was fixed, patched, sparkling, touched up, and beautiful when we handed over the keys. We also had the exterior of the house painted too, as if we didn't have enough to pay for that month. Also took a whirlwind ~~nightmare~~ trip with the Other Chick to California for three days to hang out at the beach. With all of our kids. In one vehicle. Will not be repeating that anytime soon!

In June we finally were able to turn our attention to the new house... and boy did it need our attention. Let's just say it was in pretty rough condition, and leave it at that. I threw a "Nemo" themed birthday party for J and invited all of our SoPho friends over to swim, which was a little ambitious two weeks after moving in! We spent the month performing triage on the house, painting, fixing plumbing leaks, replacing the garbage disposal, putting up the first of several ceiling fans, trying to get the pool functioning, painting, etc. The kids and I spent every morning at the Stapley pool while the girls did swim team, and J had his lessons. We also hosted lots and lots of barbecues. About halfway through the month J finally realized he could swim without floaties and was suddenly FREE in our pool. Too fun. The girls also spent about a month in a synchronized swimming camp that was super fun. We'll definitely be doing that again!

We spent the week of July 4th at Newport Beach with all the Carters. Ahhhhh, I love that place! Seven days of relaxing and snoozing and reading on the sand wasn't nearly long enough, and made me realize that I need a beach house of my own there! Got to spend time with cousins and had a blast playing games, sand volleyball, riding bikes, you name it! We still had a few more weeks of swim team once we got back to reality in Arizona, and we sweated our way through swim meets every week. While staying at our house for few days, my dad gave us a scare ... his defibrillator shocked him several times within a few minutes and he ended up going to the hospital in the middle of the night. Good to know that the paramedics are only two minutes away. Several of us had lots of dental work during this last year too... M ended up getting four teeth pulled. Curse these huge teeth and tiny mouths! S re-read several Harry Potter books in order to be ready for HP7 part 2... which she saw at a midnight premiere with several friends and had so much fun! The end of July brought us to Safford once more to watch my nephew and his wife get sealed in the Gila Valley Temple. A also somehow ended up sick with pneumonia in the middle of the summer, when no one else we know had it. (?)

I never thought I'd made it to August and school starting, but somehow we did. We decided on Franklin West school for the kids, and I think we made the right choice. The girls of course eased right into the curriculum and pace and have made a ton of friends. After school started I began exercising vigorously again with a friend, and started seeing some progress... but also did something funky to my knee. A started playing the violin in the school orchestra and has LOVED every minute of it. J started preschool at Discovery Club and loves it almost as much as his Mommy does. We spent every free weekend painting.

September found us in full swing of PAINTING. I swear, the theme of 2011 was PAINT for us. By this point we had all six bedrooms painted, as well as the laundry room. Now it was time to pick colors for the main areas and exterior of the house. Sheesh, talk about indecision! I got everyone's opinion I could get a hold of, and finally went with it... and luckily the HOA approved it. We ditched M on her 8th birthday like the good parents we are and took a trip to Maryland. Bliss. Saw old friends, ate great seafood, saw the sights, slept, worked out, ran around National Harbor... it was awesome. Two days after we got home I threw a birthday party for M and 8 of her friends. Swimming, pizza, minute-to-win-it games, cupcakes... oh, did I mention I broke my toe an hour before the party? Yeah. Not fun. Thank goodness Grandma came over to pinch hit, because I could hardly walk.

October brought A's 10th birthday and M's baptism. Lots of family and friends were there to make it special. I was still hobbling around a bit and still couldn't put a regular shoe on my foot with the broken toe. That, in addition to my twisted knee pretty much halted all exercise for me, which was not good timing with the holidays on the horizon. The girls started piano lessons in October and have really liked it. Patience to practice songs JUST RIGHT still eludes us, as well as timing. We spent fall break on a "staycation" at a resort in Scottsdale. For FREE. Love our timeshare! I finally got my new TEETH in October too; veneers that had been in planning stages for years because of a childhood mouth trauma finally became a reality. I love that I don't have to photoshop my teeth ever again in pictures! Exterior house painting finally began in October too. Now, three months, 40 plus gallons of paint, new garage doors, lots of blood, sweat and tears and a boom truck rental later, I can say that it's pretty much finished. For Halloween, we dressed up as Alice in Wonderland characters, with the girls being heart playing cards, J as the king, me as the Queen, and Daddy as the Mad Hatter.

In November, we spent our 13th anniversary going to see the Blue Man group. So much fun, I really do love seeing shows. We hosted Thanksgiving and were able to have my parents come up, as well as have friends over. Menu, company and leftovers were all fabulous. Starting in November the vinyl orders and projects started trickling in and kept me busy for the next month.

December saw me and the other Chick participate in a couple of craft shows, where we actually did pretty well! N got into a new position at work - - and the time he has spent has been even more intense than the bishopric calling ever was. I'm getting used to never having him around. At least the kids are older and more self-sufficient now. Between vinyl stuff and Christmas cards, ward party, birthday party, gift-getting and making, recitals, winter programs, parties and all the other December stuff, I was pretty much wasted come Christmas morning. We took off the day after Christmas and spent a few days in Safford recuperating. And, wouldn't you know it, I was sick by new year's. I'm just glad I made it through the month!

Now it's 2012. It's been 20 years since I graduated from high school; my classmates have been planning a reunion - yikes. My slug body that hasn't exercised regularly in months is feeling old lately. Probably because I'm addicted to soda, desserts and any dark chocolate and peppermint combinations I can find. The kids are doing awesome. They play outside every day with friends in the neighborhood, and ride their bikes and scooters constantly. We have started to hit every library event, Lowe's workshop and any other free entertainment Mommy can find. We have much, oh, so much to still do on this house, but I think we've made a significant dent in the to-fix list considering it's only been six months. I've tried really hard to maintain my old friendships, so therefore haven't really made many new friends here in Mesa. Overall I'm totally content with our life. We are blessed beyond measure. If you've made it through to the bottom of this longest post ever, then I owe you some kind of treat. Peace out.

I hate clutter.

2012-01-09T17:48:00.000-08:00

New year, new themes for the blog. Clutter drives me nuts, both in my home and others. There are some spaces in my house (and in my garage, and on my hard drive, and in my business) that seriously need some attention in 2012.

Need some motivation to de-clutter? My best tip is to schedule a party... it gives you a deadline to get projects done and spaces clear, and it REALLY helps to look at your house/car/yard through someone else's eyes. Found these tips in an article that made me think of several people I know...

1. Clutter Keeps You From Being Productive

Keeping disorganized piles (OR ORGANIZED PILES, for that matter) of stuff lying around your home is a mental and emotional drain. Seeing those piles reminds you of things you need to do, but drains your energy and motivation to do them. Clutter makes it difficult to focus and makes it difficult to find the items you need to complete tasks.

When your house is cluttered you may start a project only to find that you are missing an item. While looking for the item, you may get distracted by the piles of other stuff. Rather than finish your original project, you spend the rest of the afternoon dealing with those piles.

Few things irritate me more than to have to look for something that I KNOW is buried SOMEWHERE. Ugh, if I just had LESS STUFF this wouldn't be as big of an issue! Time to de-clutter!

2. Clutter Costs Money

Clutter not only prevents you from being productive, it also costs you money. When you are constantly distracted and wearied by the disorganized chaos in your home, you don’t have the energy to cook, plan or do other time and money saving activities. You may also spend extra money on gas and purchases because you “lose” items in your home or you forget that you have them.

When the clutter really begins to pile up, you may choose to spend time away from home to avoid it. Being “busy” away from home costs money: eating out because you’re too busy to cook, buying unnecessary items because you’re in the stores too often, and gas money driving to all the places you go to avoid being at home.

3. Clutter Keeps You Stuck Emotionally

Many times we hold on to stuff rather than dealing with our true feelings of fear or loss. We fear that we won’t have enough in the future or we fear that we will need the item we are holding onto, but we won’t be able to replace it.

The truth is that most items can easily be replaced for very little money. Is it worth the emotional drain of keeping the item rather than risking the money you may have to pay later if you actually need it? The freedom gained by dealing directly with fear and grief is far superior to the bondage of trying to keep those feelings buried.

If you assess your situation and realize that you need to get rid of some things, don’t be overwhelmed. Instead:

::Grab a box for give-away items, a trashcan for throw-away items and set a timer for ten minutes. Clean one area until the timer goes off.

::If you declutter one area a day for only ten minutes, you’ll be amazed at how much you can accomplish in the next few weeks. The clean spaces in your home will fuel your motivation to continue.

My Easy Life.

2012-01-09T17:21:00.000-08:00

Yesterday our relief society lesson was on trials. The first question posed by the teacher was "Who here has an easy life?" Ummm, I was the only one to raise my hand in the room, and I was totally surprised by that. Yes, maybe it was a rhetorical question because everyone on the planet has their own set of trials, but I do truly feel like I have a pretty blessed and easy life - I mean come on, I know people with REAL problems, and compared to them, my life is cake. Would you have answered "yes" to that question??

Mewwy Kwissmas.

2011-12-24T20:11:00.000-08:00

Here's our Christmas card this year. Nope, no letter, no fancy poem. Maybe for new years. I tried to streamline this Christmas. Fat chance... I think the kids are getting more than ever this year. If I was supposed to send you a Christmas card and didn't, I'm sorry. I wasn't so much with the "organization" this month, and I've no idea who I sent cards to, or not. I still have about 20 cards left, so I must have left several regulars out. Merry Christmas anyway.

Try these. Seriously.

2011-12-10T20:18:00.000-08:00

I tried these a week ago at my MIL's and thought they were just okay; maybe I just wasn't hungry or in the mood or something. I made them today myself for our ward party tonight and they were PHENOMENAL. Seriously. Maybe it was because they were fresh and still a little soft? Don't know, all I know is that this recipe is a WINNER. Yes, I bought the dark chocolate chips which made them even more awesome. Preheat to 350 degrees. Mine took about 10 minutes.

Candy Cane Kiss Cookies

1/2 c. butter-flavored shortening
1/2 c. butter
1 c. brown sugar
1 c. white sugar
2 eggs
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla
1 tsp peppermint extract
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
2 1/2 c. flour, lightly spooned into measuring cups and leveled with a knife
1/4 c. + 2 Tbsp. unsweetened cocoa powder
1 12 ounce bag dark chocolate chips
48 Hershey’s Candy Cane Kisses, unwrapped (one 10 ounce bag)

Preheat oven to 350.

Cream together softened butter, shortening, brown sugar, and white sugar for 1-2 minutes on medium-high speed or until light and fluffy. Add the eggs and vanilla. Meanwhile, combine the baking powder, baking soda, salt, flour, and cocoa powder. Add to the butter/sugar mixture and mix until combined. Mix in the chocolate chips.

To prevent cookies from flattening out, refrigerate dough for 30-60 minutes. Drop the dough by the tablespoonful onto an ungreased baking sheet. Bake until just set, but centers are still soft, about 8 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool for 1-2 minutes. Use a metal spatula to transfer cookies to cooling rack. Top each cookie with an unwrapped Candy Cane Kiss. Allow to cool completely, long enough for the Kiss to harden. If necessary, after the cookies have cooled, they can be placed in the refrigerator or freezer to re-solidify the Kiss.

Yield: 4 dozen cookies

I LOVE THIS.

2011-12-06T08:00:00.001-08:00

Christmas 2011 -- Birth of a New Tradition

As the holidays approach, the giant Asian factories are kicking into high gear to provide Americans with monstrous piles of cheaply produced goods -- merchandise that has been produced at the expense of American labor. This year will be different. This year Americans will give the gift of genuine concern for other Americans. There is no longer an excuse that, at gift giving time, nothing can be found that is produced by American hands. Yes there is!

It's time to think outside the box, people. Who says a gift needs to fit in a shirt box, wrapped in Chinese produced wrapping paper?
Everyone -- yes EVERYONE gets their hair cut. How about gift certificates from your local American hair salon or barber?

Gym membership? It's appropriate for all ages who are thinking about some health improvement.

Who wouldn't appreciate getting their car detailed? Small, American owned detail shops and car washes would love to sell you a gift certificate or a book of gift certificates.

Are you one of those extravagant givers who think nothing of plunking down the Benjamins on a Chinese made flat-screen? Perhaps that grateful gift receiver would like his driveway sealed, or lawn mowed for the summer, or driveway plowed all winter, or games at the local golf course.

There are a bazillion owner-run restaurants -- all offering gift certificates. And, if your intended isn't the fancy eatery sort, what about a half dozen breakfasts at the local breakfast joint. Remember folks, this is about supporting your home town Americans to keep their doors open.

How many people couldn't use an oil change for their car, truck or motorcycle, done at a shop run by the American working guy?

Thinking about a heartfelt gift for mom? Mom would LOVE the services of a local cleaning lady for a day.

My computer could use a tune-up, and I KNOW I can find some young guy who is struggling to get his repair business up and running.

OK, you were looking for something more personal. Local crafts people spin their own wool and knit them into scarves. They make jewelry, and pottery and beautiful wooden boxes.

Plan your holiday outings at local, owner operated restaurants and leave your server a nice tip. And, how about going out to see a play or ballet at your hometown theatre? Musicians need love too, so find a venue showcasing local bands.

Honestly, people, do you REALLY need to buy another ten thousand Chinese lights for the house? When you buy a five dollar string of light, about fifty cents stays in the community. If you have those kinds of bucks to burn, leave the mailman, trash guy or babysitter a nice BIG tip.

When we care about our local businesses, we help provide for our communities, and the benefits come back to us in ways we couldn't imagine. THIS is the new American Christmas tradition.

Forward this to everyone on your mailing list -- post it to discussion groups -- throw up a post on Craigslist in the Rants and Raves section in your city -- send it to the editor of your local paper and radio stations, and TV news departments. This is a revolution of caring about each other, and isn't that what Christmas is about?

Blessings,

Come on OVER!

2011-12-01T17:48:00.000-08:00

See you there! It's off of Lindsay and Guadalupe... should be lots of fun vintage-redone-awesome furniture and accessories... and of course the Two Chicks! Get there tomorrow before all the best stuff is gone! The address is 717 E. Country Plaza North, Gilbert, AZ 85234. Look for the signs!

Thanksgiving...

2011-11-29T08:06:00.000-08:00

Whew, another holiday come and gone. Mine was great, how about yours? I hosted the big dinner this year, which honestly I love, because I get to determine the menu AND wear slippers to dinner. Of course we had all the basics: turkey, stuffing, sweet potatoes, etc... and tried and true favorite recipes of garlic mashed potatoes, Trader Joes salad, stuffed mushrooms, dill dip with Hawaiian bread...I even tried to make Jackie's rolls, but I'll never be as good at them as she is. We invited my parents to come up, as well as had some favorite friends come over. Perfect sized group, great food, Mom's awesome pecan pie... what more could I ask for? I even made a lemon meringue pie this year, which was quite well received... here's our table setting... including Jackie's awesome turkey plates and vinyl-on-mini-pumpkins for our place cards.

After dinner I was so wiped that I didn't want to do much more than sit, so thank goodness Mom was there to clean up all my mess. I love my friends and family!

I love this boy SO MUCH.

2011-11-16T14:10:00.000-08:00

An Attitude of Gratitude.

2011-11-06T17:45:00.000-08:00

Lots to be thankful for today, as I looked over at my husband in church and thought, MAN, I'm lucky. 13 years we've gone so far. Happy anniversary honey!

1. I'm grateful that my husband sits next to me in church now. The kids act 100% better and I don't spend sacrament meetings out in the foyer fighting with #2 and #3 anymore. I do tend to fall asleep more in church now, though.

2. Grateful that previously mentioned husband let me trim his hair yesterday, instead of doing it himself. It looks great!

3. Grateful that I was able to find coordinating head-to-toe outfits, shoes and accessories for the 5 people in our family for yesterday's family photo shoot. It took 4 days of running around to different stores and trying different combinations, and entirely too much worrying but I'm really happy of how our little family turned out. Got lots of excellent deals on things! I'm hoping the pictures reflect how well everything went together and how happy my kids were. (And that I don't look fat, of course)

4. Grateful that we were able to go out last night for our anniversary to see the Blue Man Group. I needed a night of laughing - - it was so totally entertaining! And even better that my hubby kept it a surprise from me until last night too! Thanks to Grandma, and the other Chick, for handling my kids to facilitate it.

5. Grateful that I was finally able to finish my book, the Son of Neptune. Oh wow, how I love this author and this series! I can't believe I have to wait a whole year for the next one to come out, ugh, that means I'll have to re-read all of the Percy Jackson series and these two Heroes of Olympus books again before I read a new one.

6. Grateful for food storage. I got up this morning and made minestrone, all from cans in my pantry, and homemade bread. Both were awesome, if I do say so myself! Will definitely be repeating that meal!

7. Speaking of food storage, I just recently bought and put in a huge can-rotator system in my pantry. Jackie, you'd be so proud. I'm not saying I'm OCD or anything, but it's just SO COOL to have everything perfectly organized! Now I need 5 more cans of Ranch beans, 9 more of tomato sauce, etc, etc. Ha Ha! Grateful for organization and the calm it brings me.

8. Grateful that my house is ALMOST FINISHED being painted. I can almost see the light at the end of the tunnel, the big picture, whatever, and it's starting to look so good! Grateful that my husband and his friend have put so many hours into it.

9. Grateful that our winter grass got planted, though I'm NOT grateful for the hundreds of pigeons that have been eating it every day since.

10. Grateful that Halloween is over. I'm in full Thanksgiving/fall mode. Bring on the soup recipes and gratitude vinyl ideas!

11. I am so grateful for our house and neighborhood, and the weather. My kids get home every day from school and immediately jump on their bikes to ride around. Grateful that they've got some healthy habits for a change!

Oh Photo Shoot!

2011-11-06T11:32:00.001-08:00

Can't wait to see the rest if this one turned out so well!

ALWAYS. MY WAY.

2011-11-02T09:29:00.000-07:00

Yes, your majesty. You know, being the Queen of Hearts isn't that much of a stretch for me.

The girls loved their playing card costumes. Jackie's idea for foam heart headpieces worked perfectly!

And in honor of the Alice in Wonderland character-theme, this was the pumpkin I decorated for a contest at our orthodontist's office. Seriously, I can't believe I didn't win.

This was another one of out entries. "THE PUMPKIN ATE MY BABY!'"

We also hit a pumpkin patch for a little bit last week, but with no camera and a mostly dead battery on my phone. This will be the place we will never forget being LOST IN THE CORN MAZE for forever.

The rest of the last couple of weeks have been filled with painting, including my husband playing around on this contraption.

No, we're not done painting yet... but hopefully pictures of the finished product will be forthcoming in the next week or so...

Update:

2011-10-19T13:36:00.000-07:00

Whew. What a month.

Things we've accomplished around here:
Trip to DC and Maryland without kids. (Thanks Grandma!) M turned 8. My big toe broken. M's bike fixed. M's birthday party. A turned 10. Piano lessons started by A & M. New teeth for me! Huge amounts of chicken prepped/canned/frozen. M baptized. Huge amounts of ice cream eaten. Staycation in Scottsdale for three days. Two orthodontist appointments. Three kids' dentist appointments with ZERO cavities found. (YEAH!) State fair visited. Fall break survived. Several books read. Teeth sensitivity finally gone. House pressure-washed. Cars 2 finally seen. Yard sale items eliminated from garage. Several Halloween decorations added to the collection. Getting "Boo'd" more than once. Progress made on costumes for the kids. N's car starter died. Goldilox towed to Tempe. 39 gallons of paint mixed and picked up from Home Depot.

Things on the horizon:
Making pumpkin bread. Trip to the pumpkin patch. Finishing costumes. Entering orthodontist pumpkin-decorating contest. PAINTING THE HOUSE. Service project. Fixing J's bike tire. Fixing A's bike (it looks like it got run over???? I hope it can be fixed!) Chili cookoff next weekend. Running booth with activity day girls. Selling stuff on ebay/craigslist. Family pictures. Our 13th anniversary.

Things wanting my wallet's attention:
Goldilox needs a new timing belt. A mixer. Countertops for my craft room. Shutters. A new office chair. A leaf blower. A functioning microwave, with a handle. Our home depot credit card. New sunscreens for the house. Paying off the water softener. POOL REMODEL before next summer. Ugh.

East Coast.

2011-10-04T18:00:00.000-07:00

SIGH. And Double Sigh. Why, why did I ever move away from Maryland? I totally forgot how absolutely beautiful everything is, how lush and green it is everywhere, how stuff just grows by itself, how charming and detailed all of the architecture is, so not stucco and tracty....
We drove on roads like this...

and this...

and went by our old house, which is still as shabby and in need of a paint job as ever...

but there are plenty of beautiful houses everywhere, including this awesome one... I know it's not the best camera angle, but you can still see the gray wood siding, white trim, red door, brick path, and wrought iron gate... Are you kidding me?? SWOON.

If my husband dies before me, I get to make the choice on where we're buried, right? So here it is, an adorable little church and cemetary on the side of the road in New Market. I love this.

Come on, don't you want to lay your body to rest here too? Awesome.

And of course, we went to our favorite restaurant while we were in Maryland too. You know there's some places you build up in your mind, thinking they can't possibly be as good as you remember? Yeah, this isn't one of those. As excellent as ever.

Here's our half-eaten pile of seafood... oh, those scallops were delightful.

Try as I might, I'd never be able to take a picture of the decor in this place and do it justice. Beautiful. I could stare at the woodwork all day.

I can't even describe how amazing this cream of crab soup is. Seriously. This most assuredly will be served in my mansion in heaven.

This is the super cute family we stayed with for a couple of days. It was great to finally meet Amanda's kids and go to Mt. Airy ward again. Still have lots of great friends and memories there, even though the ward has changed a lot.

Me and my peep, Amanda.

Go Devils.

2011-09-20T22:19:00.000-07:00

Things on my mind:

2011-09-14T19:20:00.000-07:00

This HOUSE. It will be fabulous and amazing someday... but right now it seems like a whole lot of headaches. And decisions. And worrying about making the right decisions when it comes to paint - and figuring out our priorities...and finding out weekly that something ELSE needs to be replaced.

Maryland. Yay! Going on a trip for a few days, where we're going to hang out with some old friends, and then head to DC for N's conference. I don't plan to do much once we're there except workout and lay around in the hotel reading. Aaaaahhhhh.....

Books. Speaking of reading, I'm three books into the Artemis Fowl series, and will start the fourth tonight. They're no Percy Jackson, by any means, but still pretty good. Speaking of Percy Jackson, I'm anxiously awaiting the release of "Son of Neptune" in the next month or so - going to be awesome. I need to re-read The Lost Hero to remember everything... I'm volunteering at the school book fair a couple of times in the next week, and looking forward to seeing the new stuff that's out. Selfish reasons, that's why I'm volunteering, yes.

Craft room - cabinets are up, curtains are up, all of the countertop I have is in... still need some details sorted out and then I'm planning to get a whole other 10 ft. of countertop ordered from Home Depot... once again, once of those "figuring my priorities" thing. Now the hard part begins - organizing everything into those cabinets and bookshelves.

School. The girls are doing great, and thankfully starting to make some friends. A has been bugging me all week to let her have a playdate with one of her classmates, but I haven't been able to coordinate with the other mom yet. Hopefully this will turn out to be a winner, though - they only live like 3 miles from us, she rides the same bus as we do, and AND, she's got a little sister in 2nd grade who M is friends with too! Perfect! Now call me back so my girls can have friends! haha...

Paint. I'm sick of it, but we've barely made a dent so far. (Wait, I take that back - we have painted 7 rooms since we moved in, there's just about 2500 square feet left to paint! Not to mention the exterior!) I need to sand and prime and paint four of our windowsills... and finish painting behind the washing machine... and sand and paint M's nightstand to match her room... yuck, not looking forward to any of those projects!

Exercise. Pretty much doing it every weekday morning now, alternating between different videos - P90, Jillian Michaels, and starting to run a little bit too... seeing progress in my legs but nowhere else yet. Sigh, I'm going to have to pull out my fat jeans when I pack for MD. Bummer. I need another fitness challenge to give me some incentive to stop eating desserts.

Teeth. I'm getting veneers next week - an undertaking that's been more than a year in planning and approving and root canaling and whitening and scheduling for. Looking forward to it. Anybody wanna watch J while I go? Now that all six of M's teeth that needed to come out are gone, we can move on with ortho work - - I'm hoping that at our appt. next month that they won't tell me she needs braces so soon, like A did... darn our small mouths and big teeth!

Life is good.

2011-09-02T13:23:00.001-07:00

I slept under a super cool, functioning, silent ceiling fan last night. I swear I could have laid in bed all day and just watched it. And as soon as I organize the garage a bit I can start parking in there. AWESOME.

Colors.

2011-08-30T14:03:00.000-07:00

Help. This is the color of my house now. We need to paint, badly. And before that I have to get my colors approved with the HOA. Fun! (You can click on the pics to make them bigger) (Oh, and don't mind the orange tree in the front yard that's falling down)
I worked on some different color combos in Photoshop, I want to freshen it up and make it look a little more modern, but now playing with it I'm not so sure which direction to go. My color choices are limited because of the stacked rock around my entrance (which I love, don't get me wrong) - - because I need to match it, obviously.

Feel free to comment which is your favorite. What house are you most drawn to, and why? And it's okay to vote for the original color too!

SO what to do? Do I stick close to the original, dark taupe and keep the trim light (cream?) ?? I'm thinking the stone around the entrance pops more when there's a light color around it, versus dark?? I think I lean toward Option #4, which is funny because that's the one that's most similar to the original color - - Oh, I don't know. I like a lighter garage door color, slightly different that the body of the house - and I want a front door that pops. Blue? Red? (But this would only work if I could lose the security door, but my husband's not too keen on that idea...) Unless I went with black, which would be awesome - then we'd just spray the security door black to match as well.

Oh, and one more thing? That iron fence, in front of J's upstairs window? It's a gaggy rusty pink color at the moment. Do we paint it the same color as the trim, or black to match the front door??

Call us up, if you want gangsta

2011-08-30T13:31:00.000-07:00

I love it when my kids play dress-up. But there ain't no princesses in this house.

Time for School! Time for School! Update.

2011-08-30T13:20:00.000-07:00

My kids have started in their new schools. (Okay yes, it's been 3 weeks, and I'm barely posting this...) I think it's going pretty well. Both A and M are up to their usual tricks, getting 100%s on most assignments.
M's teacher left me the greatest message today, just wanted to let me know how well M was doing, excelling academically, adjusting really well socially, she's a joy to have in class... she went on and on about how much she liked her. The message made me very happy, considering we have such rough mornings getting to school sometimes.

A has made lots of friends of course, and has become a regular in the school library. We went and rented a violin from Milano's, and she started in the school orchestra... which she LOVES, but I can already tell that if we're really serious about wanting her to play, we need to get her private lessons. The green eyed monster rears its ugly head each time Daddy takes A to the early bus for orchestra, because a certain second grader wants to go so badly too, and be in orchestra. (hence the rough mornings 2x a week)

Both girls dig riding the bus - and I like it too, as I only have to drive 2 miles to the bus stop - - and I think it's awesome that there's an early bus for A twice a week just for orchestra! Franklin is a good fit for us right now (and will be even better when it cools off and it's not so unbearable wearing long pants every day) and though M always says it's so much WORK, and she gets SAND in her shoes every recess, the girls are getting to do fun things; aside from orchestra, A tells me every day about the books that her teacher is reading to them, M is learning poetry - - pretty cool!

I don't have a picture of J yet (charged camera and me haven't been in the same place at the same time lately) at preschool. I wish I could show you how excited he was to be there the first week! He was mad all day that Friday because there was no school... (he goes T, W, Th) A was identifying parts of a sentence on some homework yesterday and the word "sense" was used as a noun, and J piped up and said "hey, that's in my school!" because they're learning about the 5 senses. Good to know he's paying at least a little bit of attention!

THIS

2011-08-09T13:47:00.000-07:00

makes me want to start scrapbooking again!!!
Check IT
out!

Summahtime

2011-08-03T14:27:00.000-07:00

Oh, what do you DO in the summertime when vacations and trips are finished, summer reading programs are long gone, we don't live close enough to friends anymore to have playdates, library events have ceased, you've seen all the kid movies there are to see, it's one-hundred-and-crazy degrees still outside, mom is completely out of money and it's still a week til school starts??????? We've completely devolved over here. The kids have watched more DVDs and old cartoons on hulu than I can count, and spent hours playing computer games. Projects in the house have stalled for one reason or another, mostly because Mommy has no motivation to do anything when it's so hot...

Kid Update:
J and M are doing pretty well today - they've dressed up like astronauts (which for some reason includes baseball hats, swim goggles and superhero capes??) and are exploring space and killing aliens upstairs (who knew we had such an infestation??) Have I mentioned what great big sister M is? Love her.
After a doctor appointment and chest x-rays last week, A turned out to have pneumonia (I know, right??) but she's been on an antibiotics for a week now and has all but stopped coughing. Still a little bit when she's going to bed at night. One thing they found in her chest x-ray, though, is scoliosis (like mother, like daughter!) and we have an appointment on Friday to figure out more about that. Hopefully hers isn't as severe as mine was, and she won't have to have surgery.
A's room has been a wreck for the past three weeks, and she's been a really good sport about it. We're still needing to paint a whole 2nd coat on her paint and get her furniture in there. THEN we can put the blinds back up!

House update:
We've spent a lot of un-fun money on the house this month- - new pool vacuum, A/C tuneup, and a plumbing repair. I was really hoping we'd be able to afford to get the house painted soon after we moved in, but it keeps dropping on the priority list. Last week we had a panicked moment when our dining room ceiling started leaking during M's bath... I had nightmares of having to rip the bathtub out and pay for a huge repair, but it turns out that we got a home warranty (THANK GOODNESS). Plumbers came this week with only a $55 service call and fixed it, (it was some kind of drain issue) and now we just need to get two small holes in the drywall repaired. Whew.
Our to-do list I made TWO months ago is still pretty much that - a to-do list. Little has been accomplished on it - but here's where we stand:

Projects finished:
Kitchen pantry painted, New garbage disposal installed, R/O system taken out, New sink cabinet floor cut and put in, Pool drained & acid washed, Rose bushes trimmed
Holes in the drywall patched (but now we have new holes to fix!), Doggie door removed, New programmable thermostats installed, Built-ins ripped out in craft room, Furniture left in the house sold on Craig's List, J's room and closet painted, master bedroom painted, Shutters installed in J's room and master bedroom, Block fence/gate repaired, M's room painted, J's ceiling painted, Laminate floor in craft room finished, Craft room painted, Most of upper cabinets installed in craft room, A's new ceiling fan installed

Projects in progress:
Painting A's room
Getting A's furniture (TONIGHT! Yeah!)
Installing rest of craft room cabinets
Figuring out new craft room countertop situation...
Building shelves in J's room niches

Projects on horizon:
Getting craft room unpacked
Finishing J's quilt, or giving up and buying one
Getting garage door fixed
Getting garage door opener wires installed
Spray painting several light fixtures
Buying new ceiling fans (finally made a decision on those)
Buying and installing water softener (okay maybe this will be moved down on the list - I had no idea they were so expensive)
Buying and installing a new microwave
Dead tree ripped out and taken to dump (I think we're going to hire someone to do one big cleanup instead)
Somehow weather-proofing all the windows and doors, and getting the broken/missing screens made and installed
Getting a functioning latch/lock installed on J's window
PAINTING the exterior of the house
PAINTING the interior main spaces

Seven for Saturday.

2011-07-23T22:37:00.000-07:00

1. My parents were up here for the last three days, Dad helping on a myriad of projects and Mom watching and playing with my kiddos while I ignored them and worked on stuff in the garage. Things were going along swimmingly until Dad had a little shock from his pacemaker/defibrillator in the middle of the night last night. Thank goodness the paramedics were only 2 minutes away and took him straightaway to the hospital. Everything's fine, I guess that's what the defib thingy is for, but it kind of freaked us all out. He's out of the hospital and they went home to Safford this afternoon. Maybe I worked my 77-yr-old dad a little too hard hanging cabinets and working in my garage in 110 degree heat in the middle of the day??? Hmmm..... have I mentioned how awesome my dad is? You know you're jealous that I have such a handy, brilliant helper when he comes around. He brings the know-how, just call me Man-u-el. Believe me, this house needs lots of TLC and my dad is awesome at helping me bring the love! I promise I won't work him so hard in the future though...
2. The girls finished up swim team and their Camp GottaWannaSynch synchronized swimming this week. Swim team at Stapley wasn't so much fun, (I miss the waterdogs!) but synchro was great - we will probably do that again next year! They had their final show on Wednesday night. Both sets of their grandparents were able to come and watch - it was super cute! J is finally swimming without floaties as of this week. He's been a chicken all summer, thinking he needs them in our pool when he's just fine at swim lessons. This week we've turned the corner and put those silly floatie things out to pasture. And of course he can swim all the way across the pool, arms and legs and all. Yay!
3. M had two teeth pulled yesterday - she was supposed to have four taken out, but things got a little rough when the dentist realized how completely jammed her baby teeth are in there will all of those permanent teeth too. You can blame it all on her father with his huge teeth - (it's totally not her mother's fault with her small mouth!) We're going to try again in a month to get the other two out - this time with some serious medicine to knock her out - laughing gas just isn't going to be enough. The fact that she has to go in fasting is going to make things unpleasant as well.
4. I'm starting to think I've bitten off more than I can chew with this huge house, and everything that needs to be fixed/painted/replaced in it. Patience is a virtue I just don't have. However, we now have 4 1/2 bedrooms painted - yippee! At least the upstairs looks like we're making some progress... and now that my craft room floor is finished the cabinets can make their way in from the garage and become part of the family again. If only there were more than one Saturday in the week, we could be moving much faster on things.
5. I've inundated myself with Harry Potter the last month, between re-reading the last two books, watching almost all the old movies, and seeing the new movie twice in the last 8 days - including the midnight premier of HP7.2. And if you ask, I'll tell you yes, I really liked the last movie and how everything ended up.
6. My nephew and his wife are getting sealed one week from today, and their little family is going to become an eternal one. They rock - can't wait to see them plus all of my siblings that will be there too!
7. Just eighteen days 'til school starts. I think I can make it.

Thoughts.

2011-06-28T08:54:00.000-07:00

I knew there was something pulling me to Phoenix yesterday, other than getting my glasses fixed and picking up our lame summer reading prizes from the library. SO thankful Jackie and the boys weren't injured seriously yesterday in her accident - could have been ugly.

I'm kicking myself for not reporting the Dad I saw, schlepping his kids around in his little car with ZERO carseats. I could have easily told the policeman that was standing RIGHT THERE.

Jackie is amazing, did you know that? She wasn't hysterical and crying, like I would have been, she was honest with the police and took her "kid not in a carseat" ticket with a thank you. She even came home and hosted my crazy kids for a few hours while helping Lorena do a sewing project for the young women. I swear I would have cancelled everything, taken a valium and gone to bed.

I only splurge on pedicures a couple times a year, and my crusty heels were begging for some love yesterday. Even though it's under new management, and "Jimmy" isn't there, I can still recommend the place on 35th Avenue and Southern. "Essence Nails" I think.

I am literally losing sleep over ceiling fans - and not just because my master bedroom fan has taken to swinging erratically and CLICK CLICK CLICKING constantly. I know I'm ridiculous about these things, but I have very specific opinions when it comes to ceiling fans.
#1 - I want a Hunter fan. My dad swears by that brand, and we've had very good luck with them as well, so I'd like to stick with it.
#2 - I do not want to be able to see the light bulbs. Until they make cute CFL bulbs, not the swirly kind, I'm NOT buying any light fixture that displays bulbs.
#3 - I want the hardware to match everything else I have in my house (and since we've already got (mostly) oil-rubbed bronze doorknobs, that choice has been made)
#4 - I want all the fans in the house to coordinate with eachother. I know, I know.
#5 - Anything with this shape of blade looks totally dated to me.

#6 - Anything with this shape of light also looks dated to me, and cheap Walmart as well.

#7 - I do NOT want to see any pull chains. I'm short, and several of my ceilings are 9' or taller. Wall control and/or remote is a must.
#8 - This is my BIGGEST COMPLAINT with fans. I loathe what I call "nipple lights". You know what I'm talking about... something akin to this...

Unfortunately, 70% of the fans on the market, I think, have nipple lights on them. Another 20% have multiple shades where you can see the bulbs. Another 8% of fans are "novelty" type with weird kid themes, or overly designed with the funky blades, etc. So that leaves me with 2% to choose from - and those choices are three times the price of anything else. Grrrrr...... this fan, I think, is almost perfect (or would be, with a bright WHITE glass dome, instead of amber):

This one I could live with as well, even though I don't like the blade shape as much...

But again, both of these are more than three times the price of something like this: This is called the "Stratford" from Home Depot - totally affordable, love the shape of the blades, and the hardware is the right color. (But it's got a nipple light.) A Hunter rep that happened to be in Home Depot this weekend also told me that I could call the company and they would send me new free domes, so I technically COULD get the glass in white like I want, instead of this amber color...

I like the idea of having three of the dark-wooded 52" Stratford fans in my main areas - family room, loft, and my master bedroom, and having coordinating white 44" Stratford fans in all the rest of the bedrooms.

Bonus of this one is that the white version also comes in a bigger size of 52" as well, so I could put a bigger one in J's huge bedroom and have the 44 inchers in all the rest of the bedrooms, and they would still coordinate.

SIGH. What to do, what to do. I guess become a fan designer at Hunter, that's what. Anybody want to hire me?

Phoenix vs. Mesa, the showdown

2011-06-23T10:24:00.000-07:00

So far:
Mesa neighborhood vs. Phoenix neighborhood - Mesa wins.
Mesa car insurance rates vs. Phoenix - Mesa wins.
Mesa commute to work vs. Phoenix - Mesa wins.
Mesa libraries vs. Phoenix - tie.
Mesa library website vs. Phoenix - Phoenix wins.
Mesa schools gifted programs vs. Phoenix - Phoenix wins.
Mesa Walgreens vs. Phoenix Walgreens - Mesa wins.
Mesa Fry's vs. Phoenix Fry's - Phoenix wins.
Mesa post offices vs. Phoenix's South Mountain Post office? - come on, you know the answer to this one.
Mesa swim team vs. Phoenix swim team - Phoenix wins.
Mesa's AZ Desert Dolphins synchronized swimming vs. Phoenix's ..... - Mesa wins.
Everything else is TBD ...

Blessings.

2011-06-08T21:21:00.000-07:00

I had a dozen things on my to-do list today, most of them in SoPho. After making the trek over there and getting my hair cut, leaning once again on Jackie, letting J play with Finny, buying a bed frame from Craig's List, visiting the Meadows and returning stuff to CC library, I popped in to see our renters at our old house. Literally, popped in, with no notice. Not only were they totally gracious in letting me barge in and drill a hole in a cabinet door (don't ask) but they let me walk through and see what they've done to the place. And wow, was I impressed. Never, never, did I ever have that house so clean and put together. Their furniture is huge but very nice and looks great. They have pictures hanging in every room already. The counters were all clear and the tables had placemats set on them - it was like walking through a staged model home. (I mean really? Who lives like that?) They painted the brown dots pink in J's room and now it belongs to their little 6-yr-old girl, whose bedding and furniture and everything match beautifully. I'm so totally grateful. This family is awesome, and I couldn't have asked for a better situation. Hopefully they will stay there forever like they plan to right now!

Beach kids. Edit.

2011-06-08T08:18:00.000-07:00

My cuties could stay at the beach ALL DAY LONG. As could their mother. We made a quick trip last week with the Foushees to California and spent two days at Newport Beach. Aaaaahhhhh. J spent his time playing in the sand and collecting shells.

I.Love.This.Photo. Maybe I should make it sepia tone and print a big poster for J's room???

M and A played in the surf. Beach babes, these two! M says her favorite part was jumping over the waves with A.

I tried to get in as much reading as I could while still keeping track of six kids. A discovered the art of laying out though - she was just laying on the sand in the sun "Oh, mom, this is SO nice. M you HAVE to come try this - just come lay down and relax!" It.was.awesome. Next month's family beach trip is going to be SO MUCH FUN!

Slowly but surely...

2011-06-08T07:44:00.000-07:00

Projects finished:
Kitchen pantry painted
New garbage disposal installed
R/O system taken out
New sink cabinet floor cut and put in
Pool drained & acid washed
Rose bushes trimmed
Holes in the drywall patched
Doggie door removed
New programmable thermostats installed
Built-ins ripped out in craft room
Furniture left in the house sold on Craig's List - YEAH!
J's room and closet painted
One wall in master bedroom painted

Projects in progress:
Shutters being installed TODAY in J's room and master bedroom
Block fence being repaired
Painting rest of master bedroom
Patching in rest of laminate floor in craft room
Painting craft room

Projects on horizon:
Installing craft room cabinets
Getting craft room up unpacked and up and running
Painting J's ceiling
Building shelves in J's room niches
Finishing J's quilt, or giving up and buying one
Getting garage door fixed
Getting garage door opener wires installed
Spray painting several ceiling fans & light fixtures
Buying and installing water softener
Buying and installing a new microwave
Dead tree ripped out and taken to dump
Somehow weather-proofing all the windows and doors, and getting the broken/missing screens made and installed
Getting a functioning latch/lock installed on J's window

...............

NEMO party edit

2011-06-03T22:20:00.000-07:00

I have a great kid. Actually I have three great kids. My baby turned four this week, and I threw him a big fun NEMO-themed birthday party today and invited a whole bunch of So Pho friends out to see our new house. I think we had 18 kids here? I admit it was a little ambitious to host such a big to-do after just moving in. Thank goodness the other CHICK was around to help me get everything ready. Luckily my birthday banner I made last year for Josh still sort of matched our theme, so I was able to use that again. We decorated with fish nets (courtesy of my kids' already fishy-themed bathroom) seashells (courtesy of J and our beach trip last week) and sand buckets. I also brought our goldfish in their bowl downstairs to be a centerpiece. Fun! Soren I think had the best quote of the day, while watching our fish "I just can't stop watching them! I'm trying! I just can't stop!" I also bought a big coral reef mural that went in our front room, where we played "Fish Fish Shark" (instead of duck duck goose) and read J's favorite book. Also bought a big ride-on shark (Bruce) for the pool.
It was J's idea a while ago to have a NEMO themed party, because his favorite book in the world right now is "The Three Little Fish and the Big Bad Shark" which we read every night. So, we called it a Nemo party and had everyone over to swim. Lisa did a dramatic reading of the book, and all the kids were enthralled.

With orange and white napkins, plate, and orange striped cupcake pops (which were too expensive, next time I will make them myself) and lots of themey food, I think it turned out pretty well. We had Gil's Sea Shells (pasta roni shells and cheese), Dory's Doritos, Goldfish (which should have had a tag that said "Mr. Ray's school of Fish") ,

Swedish Fish (also should have been "Krill") , Peach's Peaches (we happened to have fresh peaches this week), Inky's octopus hot dogs with blue "ink" ketchup, (Can't you just hear it? "Aaaaaw, you guys made me ink!" )

and orange baby carrots with blue ranch dressing. Fun.
Finny enjoyed the hot dogs too!

We.have.moved.

2011-05-31T13:23:00.000-07:00

Oh, man, what a process. It took more blood, sweat, tears and gas money than I want to calculate, but it's done. We're out of the Phoenix house, and into the Mesa one. Whew. I never want to move again! My advice, if you're thinking about moving, ever? Don't buy food storage. Sheesh.

So anyway - here's what I've been up to since the 3rd of May: closing on our house, getting carpet cleaned, hiring movers, cleaning, packing, cleaning some more, touching up paint, mowing grass, getting termites treated, getting my car window fixed, pulling weeds, taking cabinets down, filling lots of holes in walls, painting our pantry, getting paint in my hair, trying to organize my kitchen, totally losing interest in American Idol, cleaning some more, sending N off on a business trip for four days, performing in a school talent show, sending off the boys to F&S's (or boy camp, as J calls it), meeting lots of new neighbors and eating all their treats, swapping stoves, going to Home Depot, moving sheds, draining the pool and getting it acid washed, finishing up the last few days of school, getting the exterior of the Phx house painted, coordinating with renters, selling a trampoline, grocery shopping, going to the dentist, going to Home Depot again, replacing a garbage disposal, picking out paint, spending a fortune on paint, being without internet service for WAY too long, eating lots of junk & fast food, patching lots of holes in walls with Papa's help, scrubbing tile and grout with seemingly no progress, ripping out built-ins and realizing now I have to patch in the rest of the laminate floor (ugh, not fun), watching kids swim, driving to California with the other chick and her kids, spending two days sitting on the beach, going to Home Depot some more, hosting several last-minute BBQs, trying to read my book that's overdue at Cesar Chavez library, going to a new ward, getting sustained in new callings already in that new ward, borrowing tools, getting ready for a yard sale this weekend, starting swim team and swim lessons...

so you'll forgive me if I haven't blogged lately, or if I owe you vinyl. Hopefully by this weekend my craft room will be up and running......

Wanna go to Disneyland?

2011-05-11T14:43:00.000-07:00

I'm in a pickle. I booked our timeshare rooms 6 months ago intending for us to take a family trip to Disneyland just after school got out. Oops. Now we've moved, and we have other summer vacation plans, and I'm broke due to 1) new house purchase 2) car repairs 3) termite treatment 4) my gas bills 5) carpet cleaning 6) dentist stuff - - etcetera, etcetera. If you'd like to help me out, and possibly save my marriage, please pass this on to ANYONE you know who might be interested.

We have both a 3 BEDROOM SUITE and a 1 BEDROOM SUITE located around the corner from Disneyland - reservation is for FIVE NIGHTS from May 22 to the 26th at the Peacock Suites - located at 1745 Anaheim Blvd. It's basically on the corner of Katella and Anaheim Blvd.

We are too late to cancel the reservation at this point, so MAKE ME AN OFFER. Check in Sunday afternoon/ check out Friday morning. You can take the WHOLE FAMILY, and FRIENDS, and GRANDMA TOO!!! I've had these rooms sold a couple of times, and the buyers have flaked out on us - so here's your chance to take advantage. I originally had the 3BR suite (3 bedrooms, 3 bath, living & dining areas, etc) listed for $850 or the 1BR suite for $450. Apparently i didn't market them well enough, and I haven't had any serious offers. I've also been way too busy to think about them, but now it's crunch time and I have to take what we can get. At this point I'd take half that.

SO REALLY, Make me an offer I can't refuse and do it before a buyer on EBAY does.

This is 5 nights in Anaheim!!!!! This is much more than just a regular hotel room! Free breakfast every morning, upgraded, remodeled nice rooms. CLEAN, valet parking, pool, jacuzzis, great customer service - - - - CALL ME with serious inquiries only - 602-309-4093

Rough Life.

2011-05-03T23:36:00.000-07:00

I.am.stressed. As of today, we own two houses - hooray! I feel like my sanity is very fragile right now, with me trying to coordinate everything that needs to happen in the next two weeks... including packing, loading my car and driving the trek over to the Mesa house for the third day in a row, unloading, vacuuming (?), hopefully getting power and water turned on tomorrow at our Mesa house in time for a carpet cleaning at noon, getting back to Phx in time to pick up kids from school, orchestrating a big wood/vinyl project for the Young Women tomorrow night, cutting and weeding 10 VERY intricate blocks of vinyl wording (dang, why did I design it like that???) routing and sanding the rest of their signs, putting together another vinyl project for Janna for Thursday morning, preschool, more packing, coordinating a talent show practice for 13 kids on Thursday afternoon, (what am I supposed to do with J while that's happening???) playing volleyball with our ward's team on Thursday night, more packing on Friday, maybe getting a moving truck Friday afternoon with hopes of moving most of our furniture over on Saturday (??), cleaning the Mesa house top to bottom so we can move stuff IN, hiring the pool guy this weekend? maybe? , at some point practicing the piano to accompany the primary kids on Sunday in sacrament meeting, (but am I still going to have a piano? Or will it be in Mesa?) Part of my stress is coming from trying to plan out what's going to be moved, when, and how little we can live with for the next two weeks... when should we start sleeping at the new house? On Monday Daddy leaves for a 4-day business trip, and oh yeah, we need to get our renters squared away and sign papers before he leaves, I need to pick and buy paint, and get all three kids' bedrooms painted while he's gone next week, need to hook up with my printer friends on Thursday the 12th to pick up the t-shirts for all the first graders at Vista, deliver the shirts to the school on Friday the 13th, oh, are we going to get professional movers that morning or will it all be done by then? What painters are we going to hire for the new house? NO idea yet. Daddy will be home for less than a day before leaving for Father's and Sons, the girls and I have the school talent show that night, somehow I need to find time to get makeup and hair done for 13 zombie children (where to find white makeup? How to make black eyes and bloody necks? Need to go get black nail polish and lipstick too?? What kind of shoes do zombies wear anyway?) I'm going to SCREAM if we can't get our timeshare rooms sold by then - I'm totally starting to panic about that because our buyers flaked out on the biggest suite, my gosh, we're going to end up forfeiting all those points, doesn't anyone want to go to Disneyland? Because I stinkin' need the cash! CRAIGSLIST YOU HAVE TOTALLY LET ME DOWN LATELY! ACK, I need sleep too. Goodnight. I know, rough life, I've got a busy husband who has a great job, three active, involved, talented kids, and a big, beautiful new house I have to decorate.

Don't cloche your eyes - you're going to want to see this.

2011-04-18T23:30:00.000-07:00

Okay, I'm in love with these things... my MIL has several that I was oohing and aahing over a few weeks ago, and being the lovely that she is, she went out and bought me one of my own. There's just something so fun and new about them, but yet sweet and retro too. Awesome. I finally got the motivation/inspiration today to put stuff inside of it - who knew dollar store ceramic birds and some spray paint could turn out so cute??

Here's my question - what should it sit on? Do I need an elevated stand? Do the birds need to sit on something higher inside of it? How about the white plate it's on, (I did that because of the white birds?) Would a clear glass plate, like my cake stand next to it, be better? Something silver and vintage-y looking instead? Oh, and I'm thinking I should turn the birds to face eachother - it looks like they're having a fight. Ha!

And the cake stand with eggs and moss... yay or nay? I kind of like it, but now I feel like I need many more cloches in various sizes and heights, to create a better vignette, not just two random ones... oh, what have I started. Looking on Ebay and Etsy, these things aren't cheap. *cheep!* Here they are together:

House Project.

2011-04-18T06:46:00.000-07:00

This blog is quickly becoming about decorating, and not much about anything else... sorry... it's just a good place for me to compile all my disjointed thoughts and ideas! I saw THIS bathroom today, and I've got a guest bath in the new house that's pretty much the same size and shape... and it desperately needs attention soon because the doors on the vanity are broken off. No, I'm not going to paint mine purple, but I do love the board and batten idea... I wanted to incorporate it somewhere in the new house! Maybe I can make new cabinet doors (Dad?) in this shaker style (my favorite door profile anyway) and paint the cabinet black like this too... this will be a good test for the master bath...

Problem is, the toilet and bath are bright white, and the countertop is cream. Grrr. How do you match both?

http://www.infarrantlycreative.net/2011/03/purple-board-batten-bathroom.html

I can't be the only one...

2011-04-14T21:34:00.000-07:00

Right?

Other stuff I like.

2011-04-09T22:29:00.000-07:00

I want to build these: I think they would be super fun in a playroom or in A's room.
Wood Ledges

and somewhere, somehow, I'm going to become a genius with molding and a miter saw and create something like this:Pantry Door Moldings

and I'd like to buy M this bedding: JCP Pink and Brown Daisy Quilted Bedding(these sites suck me in with their inexpensive prices on quilts (not comforters! Awesome!) but then they stick me with the shams, accent pillows and everything separate! grrr...
And something like this for A's room: Blue/Green Quilt Set

Some lighting options: I know they probably don't all go together... I couldn't even name my style if I tried... I just know I like all of these very much! What do you think?

I have always loved these moravian star lights, definitely need to find a place for one!

Drum-shaped chandeliers and lamp shades, oh how I love thee...

Another funky drum-shaped chandelier - - is it as cool as I think it is? Or just weird?

Darnit, why do I have to live in AZ and need fans - I would so buy this for M's room.

I love the industrial, outdoor feel of these pendants... what do you think, with my white kitchen? Do they go? Imagine three hanging over a raised bar? If I went with nickel hardware on my cabinets instead of oil-rubbed bronze, there is a nickel version of this too...

Moving and such.

2011-04-09T22:13:00.000-07:00

Last summer, I thought I found the house of my dreams. We had been casually looking in a certain neighborhood in Tempe for many, many years... waiting for a specific, rare floorplan to come up for sale. Well, it finally did, and it happened to be directly across the street from an old work friend of mine, and it happened to be a somewhat-affordable short sale, so we thought it was meant to be. I took pictures of EVERYTHING in that house, had the decorating all planned out, I had measured everything and brought friends and family to go see it... it was a done deal in my mind that this would be OUR house. So I thought. There was a part of me, however, that never felt at ease about the idea of moving into it right away - - so we decided we'd rent it out for a few years, and then move into it, finally, when the kids were ready for junior high/ high school. (I think it was N & I who wanted to live in Tempe so badly, but we weren't necessarily thinking about the kids - we were already making lots of concessions thinking "We don't need a playroom - and the girls can still share a room - and we don't need a big backyard, etc, etc") After 6 months of negotiating and waiting for banks and postponements and auctions and such, losing much sleep, getting our financing together and all our ducks in a row, the deal ended up falling through - - but after it was said and done, neither N or I were sad about losing that house. Go figure.

Less than 2 weeks later, N called me saying he wanted to go look at another house. In Mesa. (Bigger! Cheaper! he says...) I reluctantly agreed... I didn't want to waste any more of our realtor's time. But when I walked through it the very first time, (this was way back in January) I realized that THIS is where I wanted my kids to be. No question. This one just feels right, like the Tempe house never did. Located in east Mesa, it's is a diamond in the rough with an amazing floor plan, in a nice neighborhood, with perks I never knew I wanted (astroturf, anyone?) and we are so excited to live in it. I have grand plans for it - - and hopefully, someday, my wallet will be able to see all those plans come to life.

It tears me apart to know that I'll be leaving several dear friends, my volleyball crew, my free exercise class each week, the dynamic Finny-and-Joshy duo, and my very affordable current mortgage... my heart aches to think of leaving Janna or Jackie... but I'm very much looking forward to A & M having lots of LDS friends, A not being the only one showing up to Activity Days anymore, maybe having babysitter options, doing swim team at a city pool that doesn't have rowdy, potty-mouth inappropriate teenagers hanging about all the time, A & M each getting their own room and eliminating all sleeping-schedule conflicts, all the kids being in new, challenging school environments, and N being a bit closer to work, and me being closer to my business partner. (Seems that much of our social life and errands find us driving over to Mesa, Tempe, or Scottsdale a couple times a week - - silly - - why should I have to drive 45 minutes to go buy Costco cheese or a piece of scrapbook paper??) And eventually, when I do get the girls back into gymnastics, it will be less than 1/4 mile away from my front door, instead of 15 miles away. Oh, and we will FINALLY have a POOL! And for the first time in our married life, 2011 will see our Christmas stockings hanging from a mantle! (albeit an ugly one at the moment, but a mantle nonetheless)

Yes, we could have moved further west and gotten many of the benefits I listed (with a WHOLE LOT cheaper house to boot) ... but since N works in Tempe, the in-laws live in Scottsdale and Mesa... it was time to go east. I hope you'll still be my friend, Deirdre!

If wishes were fishes...

2011-04-07T14:32:00.000-07:00

My house would look like something like this, with lots of woodwork and molding and wainscoting and dark, handscraped wood floors...

with a wall color painted just about like this...

And my master bath shower would look like this...

And my kitchen would look something like this...

and I would have a sectional like this in my playroom...

and in front of that sectional would be two ottomans like this, one red, one black... (of course I want to build these, and have them open with hinges so there would be storage...

Lovely, isn't it? Wouldn't you like to live in this house? Yeah, me too.

A few great blogs to peruse.

2011-04-07T11:47:00.000-07:00

To find reviews on books for A, because I can't keep up with her anymore and have no idea what she's reading most of the time:

http://tweendom.blogspot.com/

And let me introduce my new best friends, Jake and Brett, who have a shop in east Mesa and re-finish furniture like no one you've ever seen. I didn't realize there was such a difference between joe-shmoe like me going to buy latex paint from Home Depot then slapping it on, versus the professionals... until I stroked one of my hands across one shelf they'd re-done. Wow, these guys are good, and they have all the knowledge and tools to do it RIGHT. Including the sprayers and LACQUER paint and such, and get this, they hand-paint many of the shading and distressed looks... it's impressive, let me tell you. I will be paying them to paint A's new dresser, not doing it myself. I recommend that if you have a piece of furniture you care about, and want repainted RIGHT, call them.

http://dustygemdecor.blogspot.com/

and this news, which you may or may not be aware of, the fact that Dave Meadows will now be teaching Let's Play Music here in Laveen! He's an awesome teacher and your kids will love him!

http://happymeadowsmusic.blogspot.com/

B-b-b-Bennie and the Jetsssssss

2011-04-01T07:14:00.000-07:00

You know it was good when two days later, I've still got Haley's rendition of the Elton John song running through my head. LOVED it, love her.

Okay Idol fans - I know I haven't posted in a while, but believe me, it's not because I haven't been watching, I've just been short on time (and tired of talking about people I didn't like, because there were so many) Plus, I was a little resentful that the riff raff was moving on (Karen, Naima) and great singers like Kendra had been sent home.

But now, thanks to the awesomeness of America, we're getting somewhere. I applaud the judges for saving Casey last week. And thank goodness he trimmed up his hair and beard - he doesn't look so much like a uni-bomber anymore.

I have to say I am a bit impatient to get to the top six - which should be Pia, Haley, James, Casey, Stefano, and Lauren, and then on to the top five - - which should be, Pia, Haley, James, Casey and Stefano, and then on to the top four - - which should be Pia, Haley, James, and Casey... but after that I'm biting my nails because I don't know who should win... honestly!

I'm just crossing my fingers that America gets it right again next week and sends either Scotty or Jacob home. It's beyond me why everyone loves Jacob's voice. Gag. All I hear is over-singing and too many runs and weirdness, and all I see is a grown-up Gary Coleman who has a freaky mouth and poor fashion sense. Scotty, I'm totally bored with, and honestly I hate country music so I usually fast forward through his performances. Paul, I'm sure, will go home next week, but will be interesting at least to hear sing one more time. Maybe.

SIDENOTE - how cool is Will I Am?? Even singing a song for a cartoon, he rocks it.

Another sidenote - I'm loving how professional all the mentors are that they are having the contestants work with. Being with the same producers every week seems to be producing a much more consistent, higher quality acts instead of randomness each week coming from artists that may or may not have much music sense (Ahem, Miley Cyrus). Two thumbs up for all the changes they've made this year, including the judges and bringing on Interscope Studios. Also, I totally enjoyed having the small groups perform last night, versus a song that tries to incorporate Everyone (which never turns out great).

SO - - who's your favorite? And please, watch this if you haven't:

I need Hermione's time turner.

2011-03-23T15:44:00.000-07:00

I have two business cards to design and send to print this week, homework to help with, activity days to chauffer back and forth to tonight, dinner to make, cricut stuff to cut out for Jackie for Sunday, a book fair to work at in the morning for two hours, a doctor's appointment in Mesa for Allison tomorrow afternoon, talent show practice after school tomorrow. a craft show in east Mesa to put on tomorrow night (plus several more vinyl products to finish for it), babysitting Finny all day Friday, a play to attend at the school on Friday night with the kids, and friends to pick up from the airport on Saturday... so when am I supposed to write my talk for Sunday that I just remembered?!

Let me wipe the drool.

2011-03-10T19:34:00.000-08:00

No this is NOT an "After" post. I wish. Still browsing around blogland to find just the right look. I think aqua paint, with a brown glaze, with a dark espresso-stained top finish, is going to win out, because I keep being drawn to photos like this, and this, and this. I'm especially swooning over the super light paint of this first one - -

But this second one makes my little heart go pitter-patter as well.

See the dark brown top of this one? Love the combo!

But first things first - I require a BED to match, and BEDDING found, or made, before I pick a paint color. Because there are a lot more options in paints than in bedding! Keep your eyes peeled for me!

The Dresser. Before.

2011-03-09T18:22:00.000-08:00

We got this sweet dresser from Grandma V's house - and I think it could be fabulous. Notice the curvy front, routed details, carved legs, etc. Please offer up your suggestions on color, pulls, etc. to re-do it. At the moment, I want to strip the top and stain it dark, and then paint/shabby up the rest of it in white. Or teal. Or smoky gray blue. Hmmm... Please attach any links to ideas, if you got 'em. If anybody comes across a great nightstand or full size bed frame that would go great with this too, let me know...!

Or, do you remember what our twin beds look like? Should I just re-do one of these the same to match our (new) (Old) dresser? Does the style match well enough, or not so much?

For Sale.

2011-03-05T03:20:00.000-08:00

Okay who wants our awesome bookshelf/secretary desk? It's lovely, really, I'm sighing knowing it has to leave our house. Because it matches our guest daybed beautifully. Oh well. $250 and it's yours. The lines and distressing are perfect. The doors have beveled glass in them. There is lots and lots of storage, plus the fold-out desk surface. It is two pieces - the hutch sits on top of the desk.

Here's a photo of the inside (excuse all the junk!) That bottom shelf is perfect for holding a laptop, and there is a hole I drilled through the back where you can run the cords. The rest of the drawers are holding all of our office supplies, oy vey, where am I going to put all that stuff...

There is one problem with it - the left bracket holding the desktop has pulled out of the wood (probably because some child, who will remain nameless, leaned too hard, or possibly stood, on said desk surface) But, I think it is very easily fixed.

It's almost an exact copy of this "Graham" desk and hutch, from Pottery Barn:

And just think, MY desk is a mere $1500 cheaper! Bargain!

Get Lucky.

2011-03-02T17:31:00.000-08:00

Lucky LETTERS, that is.

I ~~stole~~ borrowed this idea from http://youcraftmeup.blogspot.com/. I liked the idea of "Lucky" instead of "Luck" though, so really it's ALL NEW and ALL MY IDEA, as far as you know. I used a 2x8 that I had lying around for this project, which I would not recommend, unless you have a fancier saw than I do. It was tough to cut wood that thick. And my letters are all screwy from back to front because of it (no, actually I MEANT them to be that way, nevermind) However, I love the way they turned out, and love how chunky they are, so maybe the 2x8 was worth it after all. Thinner MDF would have gone much faster though.
Of course I had the mod podge, paint, gems, ribbon and scrapbook paper laying around too, so this project didn't cost me a cent. (J keeps on stealing the gems off of the letters though - he insists that he needs the big blue ones to decorate his Lightning McQueen car) - as soon as I make it out to a store I want to look for some glittery shamrocks and maybe some gold coins to add to it too. If you'd like to make some LUCKY letters of your own, leave me a comment and I'll email you the letter files I used for templates, so you don't have to re-invent the wheel like I already did.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Idol - top 12 boys.

2011-03-01T20:35:00.000-08:00

I can't even agree with that title - no way José do I believe that these twelve guys are the best that auditioned in the country. But, it is what it is, and at least there's a few worthy in this group. (More so than in the girls' group, methinks!) Here's my take on tonight. Underwhelmed, at best. Somebody also needs to buy Steven Tyler a thesaurus, because the only adjective he could come up with was "beautiful".

Clint Jun Gamboa - he actually did pretty well, though I couldn't understand most of the words in his version of "Superstitious"... great voice though. He might win me over yet.
Jovany - TIME TO GO HOME. Snoozefest. I didn't know that song "I'll Be" could be sung with that little style. Gag. Is he trying to get through on his looks? Because he honestly kind of creeps me out.
Jordan Dorsey - seriously, dude? Usher? I love Usher. I'm shaking my head in disgust just thinking about it. Not a chance in heck that he EVER would have pulled that off. Worst song choice ever. That was painful to watch from the moment he yanked off his jacket. You know how they say there's some artists that "you just don't do" - - well Jordan, you personally should never, never try to do Usher. Ever.
Tim Halperin - oh, he's fun to watch sing, isn't he? But tonight? Heavy sigh. Wish he would have gone with a slower song choice, to show off his tone. Afraid he might not be around to show us much more.
Brett Loewenstern - Ewww. Ewww. Ewww. The kid has more product in his hair and wears more jewelry than any guy ever should. Dumb, dumb song choice with "Light my Fire". Hate his girly, bizarre vibe oh, so much. Is it just me, or does he seem like the type that could turn and pull a Columbine on his high school classmates? I'm just sayin'.
James Durbin - entertaining, though I don't know that such a heavy metal song would be my choice for the very first one in front of an audience. I still love, love his voice though.
Robbie Rosen - awww, he's just so sweet he makes me smile. I don't think he's quite an Archuleta, but he's close. I feel like he certainly has the talent, and I hope he sticks around.
Scotty "Randy Travis" McCreery - I'm SO not a fan of country music. At. All. But, I think he did very well tonight. Picked a great song to show off his voice. Overall he's just a little dull for me though.
Stefano - well well well we have a competitor! NICE job on "Just the way you are" - but maybe I just love that song. His clean tone and smile are just delicious, though MAN is he short. Even Seacrest towers over him! (He's not the only shorty - Clint "Jun Bug" is too)
Paul McDonald - couldn't have picked a better artist to cover than Rod Stewart. Great, great song for his voice, though I prefer when he's got his guitar. His teeth are obnoxiously white. We're talking Ross from Friends white. Am I right?
Jacob Lusk - UGH, do I even have to comment? His voice and tone just turn me off SO MUCH, and I'm baffled every time the judges fawn over him. And by the way, somebody needs to take him shoe shopping, because he is always wearing bright white tennis shoes with every outfit, and it looks ridiculous. For a gay guy, you think he'd have a little better fashion sense.
Casey Abrams - his song choice of "I put a spell on you" was interesting, if not amazing. Seemed like he screamed it the whole time. And I think his look would be vastly improved if he wore a hat, especially with that kind of song. Something like Matt Giraud would have worn?

Are we really going to send seven of these guys home on Thursday? I don't like that it has to be even numbers of guys and girls, because I think there are many more guys this year than girls who deserve top ten...

Flash Issues.

2011-02-27T08:37:00.000-08:00

Just came across a giveaway on

http://iheartnaptime.blogspot.com/

and checked out this product - http://lightscoop.com/

wow it rocks! This would save me HOURS in Photoshop and make my pics so much better. Jackie, you need one too!

Idol.

2011-02-25T09:16:00.000-08:00

Well, let's discuss it, shall we? **Warning: longest post ever.**

First things first. I know a lot of people said they wouldn't watch once Simon left - but if you haven't seen it yet this season, then you have seriously missed out. I LOVE the new judges. I've always been a fan of Steven Tyler - I heart Aerosmith, ST is crazy talented and well, just plain crazy sometimes, but everything he says just seems to ring true, like he knows what he's talking about. And who knew he was funny too?? So much fun on the panel. J-Lo is awesome too - always put together and beautiful, and smart, without having Paula's nonsensical blubbering. She seems to draw on her wealth of experience with each comment. Randy seems to be a little more eloquent this season - maybe that comes from sitting in chair #3 instead of #1. Time will tell whether he will dumb it down and pull out the "Yo Dawg" and the "For you for me," etc.

Second Point: As much as I love the judges, hello, they put WAY too many people through to Hollywood. Sigh. That's why I haven't posted until now - there were just TOO many wannabes that didn't deserve to be there. Like that Ashley chick (you know the one, the insane anorexic one who looked like Lindsey Lohan's cousin? Yep, that's her. At least she was able to get married in Vegas. Insert eye-rolling here. Granted, she was entertaining.) And gag me with Tiffany "Snooki" Rios "I'm tired of seeing other people try to do what I know I can." Ack. She was delusional and had a horrid voice. And Jacee? Come on, sweet kid, but you know as well as I do, as well as the judges did, that a fat, awkward 15-yr-old with a small voice is never going to make it on the live show. I was quite impressed, however, how he calmly accepted being KICKED OUT on group night. Wow. I would have broken down and commenced sobbing, or screaming, or both. But I digress: there are 24 important people to discuss, so I won't spend any more time on people like them.

Third - Who I think does NOT deserve to be in the top 24:
#1 on that list, Brett Loewenstern - the resident Keebler elf. I think he was an extra on Lord of the Rings - he played Legolas' red-headed step-child. Yes, I'm being a little harsh, but that boy is just odd, his voice isn't that great, and he will not be loved by America. Nuff said.
#2 on the non-deserving list: Scotty McCreery. What's his one, great talent? His deep voice? That's it? He's not even all that cute! I would have rather had John Wayne cowboy dude on the show - now HE was interesting.
(I know I have commented on looks here, but it's not as if they can be ignored. I have to look at these people every week for next couple of months! (And it's all about me!) It cracks me up when the judges say they're looking for "the entire package" - ummm, what does that mean? BEAUTIFUL PEOPLE, that's what.)
#3 on the non-deserving list: Jovany Barreto. Insert bigger eye-roll here too, for the mexican mafia dude who showed his abs to Paula on his first audition day. Puh-lease.
#4, 5 and 6 - other guys I don't really like - Clint Jun Gamboa (rude, full of himself) Jacob Lusk (absolutely scary when he sings, his mouth and tone are freaky, and he's way too flaming for me - I think he would be fantastic on Broadway, he just seems to be more of a "character") and Jordon Dorsey (again, RUDE. Thinks he's God's gift to music, and to this show. I predict he will not go very much farther because of his attitude.)
#7 - on to the girls. Tatysnisa Wilson - seriously? She's not shown me anything that impresses.
#8 - Karen Rodriguez - (I think both of these last two were added for diversity-sake.)
#9 - Not a huge fan of Thia Megia yet - but withholding judgment. We'll see if she's really got what the judges think she does. She just doesn't seem to have any stage presence.
#10 - Also not a fan of Julie Zorrilla. (you know, with the immigrant parents from Columbia?) She plays to the camera way too much, too flirty, and seems a little too confident for this stage in the game. She leaves a bad taste in my mouth each time I see her.

Fourth: Whew. Now on to my favorites so far!
BOYS
#1 - Casey Abrams - um, WOW. That's all there is to say. This dude is amazing. He may look like Buddy the Elf's brother, but he has the voice, the incredible musical ability, the style to go all.the.way. Can't wait to see what he'll do next. How much do you LOVE IT when he plays the bass?
#2 - James Durbin - um, WOW again. This guy has got way more impressive pipes than Lambert, and way more of a sob story. LOVE HIM. Totally rooting for him. And his Tourettes. (sp?)
#3 - Tim Halperin - oh, wow, love him too. On and piano and off. Have not seen nearly enough from him yet, but totally looking forward to it.
#4 and 5 - Paul McDonald (dark horse, possibly) & Robbie Rosen (amazing depth for so young!) - - both are very, very good as well. Hope they stay in it until the top 10.
GIRLS
#6 - Lauren Alaina - so flippin' sweet. 16 years old. How can you not love her? She also knows she's good, but it doesn't seem to be annoying like it is on other singers.
#7 - Haley Reinhart - so versatile.
#8 - Rachel Zevita - finally, she made it - this girl is SO so talented, with all of her range and all of her lovely tone. I'm predicting top 5???
#9 - Ashthon Jones - eek, I like her so much too.
The rest of the girls.... eh, they're just all right. Naima Adedapo might turn out to be interesting... We shall see.

Sidenote - It's called American Idol, people. Stop singing Spanish in your auditions.

SO - who are your favorites? Have you been watching? Did you see THESE?

Quiche 101.

2011-02-24T12:42:00.000-08:00

I love quiche. Since I've tried this recipe, I haven't made any other. I can eat it for any meal of the day and love it. I've perfected it (I think) and have to share ... just because anyone who has tried it asks for the recipe... here it is.

Two pie crusts (yep, I use store-bought. Do NOT pre-bake them, even though other quiche recipes might tell you to.)

Lay out crusts in two glass pie pans. Flute edges.
Swiss Cheese - slice thinly and arrange in bottom of crusts. (a 6-8 oz. brick fills two crusts nicely) Set aside crusts.

Dice 1-2 T of bell pepper (I use whatever color I have on hand)
Dice 1-2 T of onion
Dice 1 small can of mushrooms (drained, of course. If you have fresh use a handful of those instead.

Sauté peppers, onion and mushrooms together 'til onions are soft(ish).

At this point, chop up a big handful of fresh spinach and throw that in to the pan too, just to wilt it a bit. Set aside.

Mix in separate bowl:
7 or 8 eggs
2 cups half & half (or heavy cream if you're evil like that. I've used both and can't tell the difference, honestly)
Chopped ham (recipe calls for 12 oz, but that seems like a lot - I usually just grab a handful.)
Shredded Colby/Jack cheese (I usually use a handful of mexican blend)
1/2 tsp. vinegar
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. parsley
1/4 tsp. tarragon
1/8 tsp. nutmeg
1/8 tsp. garlic powder
1/8 tsp. pepper

Be generous with the spices. I barely measure anything. Add in pepper/onion/spinach mixture, and then divide between the two crusts.

Bake at 350 degrees for 50-60 minutes. Watch the edges of the crust, use a guard if they're getting too brown for your liking.

Eat it for breakfast tomorrow morning and think of me - because I'll be eating the same thing! You can take the extra quiche to your neighbor to show how thoughtful you are (unless you like it as much as I do, then by all means, put it in your freezer for yourself for next week, it'll still be fabulous.)

I'd like your vote...

2011-02-20T19:12:00.000-08:00

I really, really, really want new furniture. Like, everywhere. My ideal color palette and my style has shifted since we bought most everything that exists in this house - but unfortunately the amount in the category of "extra money not slated for anything else" has dramatically shifted as well. When we moved in 5+ years ago, I was pretty happy with most everything we had, including those darn red couches and the rug they sit on. I got guest room furniture, the girls' furniture done, bought a dining room set (wait, don't misunderstand, I love THAT) but the rest, well, it's all looking a bit tired. Several months ago I tried to replace my front room rug and stupidly ordered one from a catalog - turned out to be pretty cheapy and so, so, so not the right color - so back it went, and I gave up.
I've got the bug again to re-do my front room - I'm envisioning light, bright - cream colored upholstered couches, funky fabrics on pillows, a super fun patterned chair - - but it all has to start with the rug to get me out of my red-country-thimbleberries-woven funk. But, since it's in the same room with the green parsons chairs of my dining set, it has to get along and play nice. So, I've found a few rugs that caught my eye, that are made of wool this time, mostly still affordable, and hopefully the quality will be up to par with what I want. So - - keeping in mind my room looks like THIS right now (okay imagine it with a bit more clutter and dust on the furniture, and vinyl on the walls)

and I'd rather it looked like something in a Ballard Designs catalog, here are some options: I'll tell you right up front that it was this first one that made me seriously consider this whole project, but the reviews on it said that the color was very "lime green" which simply won't work. Love, love, love the pattern though.

This was the closest second-place option I could find - and I bet the color of green would be great - afraid it might be a little busy though.

I honestly would prefer a geometric pattern, but this one is too brown, not enough green.

Floral? Eh. Maybe not so much. I think this one was the cheapest of the bunch though. But, not enough chocolate color.

Ah, now this one is nice, but man, that green would have to be RIGHT ON, since there's so much of it. And it's the most expensive option.

What I originally wanted was THIS pattern - - if only I could find it in a nice, thick, embossed pile, tufted wool rug instead of painted on a wall...go ahead and click on the photo to see the pattern large - but imagine it in just the right muted green, and deep chocolate... sigh.

Any ideas where to send me to go look at rugs, either online or in a real store? I'm clueless...

30 Projects in 30 days.

2011-02-16T18:16:00.000-08:00

Let's see how productive I can be! Okay, I don't know if I'll actually count, bit I am deeming this month, from today until Spring Break, as "Month of Finishing Unfinished Projects" - - who's with me?? I've got a few successes under my belt this last week, and they have given me hope! What projects have been lingering around your to-do list for YOU to finish? Can I help? Do you want to get together so we can accomplish things together?? I'm not taking full responsibility of ALL of these, some should totally be on my husband's plate...

On My To-Do List:
1. M's fleece Knot-a-Quilt. (that we've had for at least 2 years, I think) I spent HOURS on this today, and finally, all the squares are assembled and the knots are tied. Now all there is to do is decorate each square (all 42 of them) with the cutout designs. Hopefully this part will be easy. My fingers are so tired from all the tying today!

4. This is a biggie - J'S QUILT. Ugh, I don't know why I procrastinate sewing projects so much. Most of the hard parts are done on this, hoping to tackle this tomorrow and make some progress.

6. Either finish painting the scallops & the ceiling in the girls' room, or give up all together and paint over them, once and for all.

8. Sand and re-paint M's nightstand (hmmm... do I still have that white paint?)

10. Sell our black secretary/bookshelf on Craig's List. Find a place to store all the books.
11. Move our (new) (hand-me-down) dresser into guest room downstairs, and put A's clothes in it.
12. Disassemble A's white bed upstairs, and find a place to store it (Senny's room perhaps????) Yep, it's time to separate the girls. Too many issues.
13. Figure out external hard drive again, and back up my computer.
14. Plan out A's new bedding, and shop for fabrics.
15. Get new plug for, or get my husband to figure out, the electricity for our instant hot water on our sink. Hello, it's been disconnected for like 2 years. Ridiculous.
16. Make my flippin' blue and brown bedskirt I started 3 years ago. (Sewing project. Are you sensing a pattern here??)
17. Santa penny rug, requiring a bunch of hand sewing, which I HATE. This one's been about 80% finished for 2 years. Sigh.
18. Research plans and options, and then get new phones.
19. CLEAN UP THE YARD.
20. Repaint the white spackled, patched hole in the red wall behind the treadmill. I fixed the hole, even though I did not make the hole, and I don't think I should have to paint the hole too. Humph. I'm not naming any names here as far as who made the hole in the wall, but it DID happen to be just the same size and shape as N's running shoe. I'm just sayin'.
21. Get our family pictures planned, scheduled and taken (This is actually MUCH higher on the priority list - not last)

To be continued...

Happy Valentines Day

2011-02-10T16:45:00.000-08:00

Look, I actually finished a holiday craft BEFORE the actual holiday! Jackie and I put these together today. I think mine turned out almost as good as the original idea - as long as no one holds a level up to the stick! (this one) maybe some of my roses need a haircut to improve their shape a little though... And I think ours were MUCH bigger than the original too - who's your Daddy? Mine!

okay, just as soon as all my other projects are done...

2011-02-10T08:47:00.000-08:00

laughing out loud right now, as if that would ever happen. How about, as soon as I finish J's quilt that's been in progress for two years...

I'm starting on THIS for new bedding for one of my girls. Love it.

http://vintagerevivals.blogspot.com/2010/11/sewing-room-scraps-bedding.html

These are a few of my favorite things.

2011-02-08T13:11:00.000-08:00

• Zupas Café. Tried this place out when we went to Utah this weekend. And then went back the next day. Um, YUM. That's all I can say. Anyone who knows me knows that my meal of choice is ALWAYS soup. And here, I have like 10 different choices. AND vanilla to add to my Coke Zero. AND I get a chocolate covered strawberry with my meal. What?? Seriously. If someone wanted to open a franchise in AZ, I would not be sad at all.

• My new favorite snack. Awesome.

• Sales at Fry's, and using F&E coupons there too. So glad they're taking competitor coupons again! I can walk into that store not organized coupon-wise at all, without a plan, and still walk out having saved 50% or more. Let's face it, I'll never be a couponer like Ashlee or April or Kenise, so thank goodness Fry's makes it easy.
• Sure Cuts a Lot. This software has opened a whole new world for me, and made me fall in love with my Cricut again. Want to buy some cartridges?? I don't need them anymore!

Tick Tock, Watch the Clock!

2011-02-01T13:04:00.000-08:00

It's giveaway time! The Two Chicks have teamed up with Morgan from Becominghomegrown.com to offer our fans a chance to win FREE VINYL! We're giving away your choice of a free vinyl saying that has "love" or "heart" in it to one of our lucky fans! You have ONE more day to enter - - go HERE or HERE to do so! I'd MUCH rather have one of my friends win than hers, so hurry and enter please! Lots of ways to enter, many chances to win!

Sweet Valentine, bless her heart.

2011-01-29T21:33:00.000-08:00

My husband's grandmother passed away today. She's been my adopted grandmother too for the last thirteen years. She would have celebrated her 90th birthday on Valentine's Day this year. (I think I'm remembering that number right) Instead, Grandma Valentine is now reunited with her husband who died many many years ago. I just told A about it as she was going to bed and had a tender moment with her as she cried with me. This is the first person my children have known who has died. A was Grandma V's first great grandchild. A knows as well as I do that Grandma is up in heaven and understands that she is happy now, and no longer sick or hurting. What a comfort and blessing that is, to have a testimony of Heavenly Father's plan for us, and for eternal families.
Things I will always remember about her? Her love of good chocolate, especially See's. Her impeccable wardrobe, with everything perfectly ironed and perfectly folded, always. Her absolute daintiness - she was a wisp of a woman. Her perfectly coordinated gold and white living room, complete with the three portraits (shrines) of her three daughters. Her stories of raising her girls, and calling them chickens. Her thoughtful cards and gifts at Christmas, including a nativity that I will treasure and for sure put out for all Christmases to come. Her handwriting. The whole family mimicking (with fondness) her "Hello Doll" raspy voice whenever she was sick. The fact that she could make Chicken Divan better than anyone else, ever, and how she would go out of her way to make people's favorite foods when they came to see her. I think Valentine's Day will always be something special to our family, especially this year. Love you Grandma.

Spinning my wheels.

2011-01-28T08:23:00.000-08:00

When I hear that phrase I envision a bicycle that's stuck between a rock and a hard place, and as hard or fast as the wheels may turn, it's unable to dislodge itself. I feel like that's what January has been for me - four solid weeks of pedaling as fast and hard as I can, and still I have nothing to show for it. I guess my treadmill IS a metaphor for my life right now. Speaking of which, I'm well on my way to getting that 100 miles run this month, yet I've gained 3 pounds, my pants are tight, and yet again I hate myself in pictures. Riddle me that, Batman.
I may get a couple of rooms in my house clean at once, but it is fleeting and still feels as cluttered as can be. I can barely get any help in that department from the other residents of this house.
I really, really need to sell our Disneyland week at our timeshare in May, and can't seem to get that done either.
I can't even count the hours I've spent creating designs for, and thinking about, our vinyl business this month, but still have no orders on any of the new stuff I've done. Seriously makes me question my talent. We're currently hosting a giveaway and barely anyone has entered! Sigh.
I still have unfinished craft projects lying around the house from Christmas, because I told myself I wanted to finish everything before I packed it away again.
My middle child is in a tantrum cycle again. Almost daily something sets her off, and sets us up for hours of screaming, fighting, kicking, threatening to run away and live with another family... Right now on my front porch there is a message spelled out in rocks which reads "I HATE U" because she was outside throwing a fit last night. Each time we get to the bottom of her mood cycle I question everything we do as parents, and wonder if it's time to start seeing a counselor or something, and then after a few days she snaps out of it and things are fine.
Little things (and big things) are breaking all over the house - stuff like our water heater, dishwasher... I don't think our water softener is working properly, nor is my dryer working very well at the moment. I spent $100 this week getting parts for, and then having to hire a repairman to fix, our dishwasher. At least it works now! Our back sliding glass door, and screen, are almost impossible to open - needs cleaning, oiling, all of the above, or something. Our yard looks awful, and needs some serious trimming, shaping, and raking. We never did get that orange tree planted that I wanted to, oh, four years ago. I'm sorry, but both my husband and I really suck at yardwork. I need to bite the bullet and hire the painters to do the exterior of my house (if you've driven by our house in the last few months, you'd understand why) My husband is too busy and tired all the time to deal with anything that happens within these four walls.
SIGH - enough complaining for the day. Time to go get that useless 5 miles run.

I want to make stuff again.

2011-01-23T22:12:00.000-08:00

Stuff like this:

http://tasteslikechikin.blogspot.com/2011/01/potted-heart-flower.html

and this:

http://projectsbyjess.blogspot.com/2011/01/owl-applique-tote.html I want to make a library bag like this - - and possibly use one of those re-usable totes, you know the ones? I have some BRIGHT lime green ones that I think would rock with little owls on them!!!

and I'd like to spiffy up the red berry wreath on my front door for Valentines Day with something like this:

and Oh.My. do I love this mosaic - made out of squares of scrapbook paper and mod podge, of all things - - - I have a big IKEA picture that I might just use for my basse - sorry Janna I might have to have it back! Where oh where shall I put it? In what colors? Hmmm.....

http://www.remodelaholic.com/2010/11/pottery-barn-inspired-paper-mosaic-art.html

I've been designing some lovey-type Valentine designs for our Two Chicks vinyl business lately, like this stuff - a few of these will end up on little plaques or signs - and I'm aching to cut some of them; want any??:

Next on the vinyl to-do list is some holiday-themed subway art, maybe something like this or this, but better, of course: (Can someone tell me why people doing these tutorials never just use VINYL? They make seriously hard work out of these subway signs!!!!!)

snapshot.

2011-01-19T12:16:00.000-08:00

This is so interesting! I think everyone should do it. Reading Ashlee's and Amberly's though made me feel like a slacker... here goes... this should make you feel good and productive.

right now…

- I never know what to eat for breakfast. Nothing sounds good. I usually end up eating a bowl of cereal - this morning it was vanilla almond Special K.

- I do not get out of bed until I have to - I'm usually motivated when I hear some kind of crisis or fight, or realize it's after 8am. It's just too cold and dark at 6am!

- I'm into wearing my lounge pants again on a daily basis - not good motivation to eat right and exercise.

- I'm all done with Christmas goodies, now if only I could be done with the sweet tooth that accompanied them...

- I'm never in bed by 10pm. Between 9 and 12 is my time to watch MY shows on TV or design stuff on my computer.

- I also go in phases with what I eat for lunch. Today it was a chicken salad sandwich. Usually it's leftovers or a cheese crisp, while J eats a bean burro.

- My hair needs a cut. And a style. But I'm not diligent enough to keep up on my short-stacked do, so I'm thinking I should just grow it out and try some long layers again. Mostly I just need it long enough so I can pull it back to run.

- I never listen to primary songs and scriptures when I’m driving. Ever. I used to be a faithful talk radio fan, and maybe I will be again when everything having to do with politics and the economy aren't so discouraging. Right now we listen to silly pop stations. My girls unfortunately know most of the words to every Gaga song, Bruno Mars, Justin Beiber... and anything and everything on all the GLEE soundtracks. Including "Teenage Dream" and "Toxic". Lovely. Aren't I a good mom??

- Soups are my preferred type of meal these days.

- I have read a few more Shannon Hale, Sophie Kinsella and John Grisham books lately. I have the 5 love languages for children on hold at the library, per Ashlee's suggestion, but other than that nothing right now is on the horizon. Any suggestions? I prefer novels that don't really have any footing in reality...

- I have bought two pairs of jeans lately, but I'm not crazy about the way they fit. I guess I need to lose another 10 pounds and get myself into the next smaller size first, then maybe it will be fun to shop again.

- My mind is regularly occupied with how to run and expand my business.

- I will only buy plain white sheets. They are the only ones I can wash in the hottest water with the most amount of bleach. I'm a little germaphobic when it comes to sheets.

- Every time I wear earrings my earlobes hurt, so I usually only put them in for church. I do own quite a few necklaces, though, and am always on the hunt for more long, chunky ones to buy or make. They usually only make an appearance on Sundays too.

- Amberly hasn't had a pedicure since Thanksgiving, and neither have I. I think it's a waste of $$ until I'm wearing flip flops again.

- I do not spend one more second in the bathroom than I absolutely have to. It grosses me out that my husband will go in search of a newspaper before he goes in.

- My craft room is my favorite room in my house, I guess. Not because it is decorated oh-so-fabulously (even though I really DO LOVE it) but because it's just so flippin' functional. N would disagree, because my crafts tend to spread out to the downstairs quite often. But hey, he married me, and he knew what I was when he picked me up.

- We have a couple of throw blankets that always live on the couch, but I'm not a huge fan of any of them. I'd love to have a big trunk as a coffee table or a storage ottoman down there so I could store some comfy blankets nearby.

- I prefer my electric toothbrush.

- I am 36 years old, and for the first time in 20 years I weigh less than my driver's license says I do.

I give up.

2011-01-14T23:30:00.000-08:00

Saturday - It started with A, who woke up with a raging fever. We spent a quiet day at home, all day. I finally got away in the afternoon to go grocery shopping.
Sunday - A stayed home from church with me while M & J went to church (and sat with the Malones), until Daddy came home and traded so I could go play the piano for primary. Sunday evening she was bouncing around and feeling much better, so we had some friends over for pie (the Malones).
Monday - Both girls woke up feeling crummy and coughing, and M managed to throw up her orange juice just at the right time to warrant a day home from school for both girls. By 10am all three kids were playing badminton outside, and I was wishing I'd just sent them to school. I tried to start M's book report with her in the afternoon - I ended up falling asleep on her bed, and she went and watched TV - so much for that idea.
Tuesday - sent the girls off to school loaded with some cough medicine. Everyone seemed to be fine. I was able to go play volleyball, and J played in the nursery with the Risenmay, Nielssen, and Myers kids. Even went to gymnastics Tuesday evening. Daddy thankfully helped M finish her book report.
Wednesday - sent the girls off to school again loaded with cough medicine. A caught up on all her homework she'd missed at school. M had begged to have friends over, so we called the Haynies and had their girls over after school. I escaped to an exercise class that ended up taking hours by the time I ran errands and got home - only to find out that M started feeling crummy and had spent hours on the couch asleep while I was gone. Great. Now we've exposed the Haynie girls too to our sickness.
Thursday - sent A off to school with some cough medicine, and J off to preschool with Finny. I took M to the doctor, to learn that she has strep throat. GREAT. Who else have we exposed?? Came home, loaded up again, waited and waited at the pharmacy for the Rx. At least we have antibiotics now, and M is fabulous at taking medicine. Doc said she because she would have 2 doses on Thurs and one on Fri morning, she'd be fine to go to school on Friday. After a mid-day orthodontist appointment, A threw a huge fit and refused to go back to class and just wanted to go home to rest - pleeeeeeeease! Fine. She obviously wasn't feeling up to par, so we came home and I let her read all afternoon. I spent all afternoon cleaning and doing laundry, oh, and barely being able to MOVE I'm so sore from the exercise class I took on Wed. In the middle of the night J woke up coughing, having a hard time catching his breath, so we spent a while trying to calm his breathing so he could sleep.
Friday - since she'd already missed 2 days this week, I was anxious for M to not stay home from school again. She happily took her Rx and went to school, even though she was grumpy. A took her cough medicine and also went to school. J was happy, not coughing, not wheezing, eating cereal, asking for a sandwich... so I assumed he was fine. After a lunch out with friends (and traveling in the car with the Malones, and playing with Finny for two hours) we came home and J instantly went to sleep on the couch. At 3:40pm he woke up with a raging fever and couldn't catch his breath again - awesome - so I called the pediatrician and raced up there for the second day in a row to get in before the weekend. Jackie saved the day, picked up my girls from school, and took them home to her house. After 45 minutes in the waiting room, we finally got to see the doc and learn that J not only has strep throat but an ear infection as well. Sheesh. Drove home through traffic, waited 20 minutes at the pharmacy to turn in the Rx. It wouldn't be ready for 2 hours because they were so backed up. I got home to find M coughing, feeling crummy, and in the sourest of moods, after she had spent another two hours at the Malones sick. Sigh. J wouldn't eat, but A ate almost a whole pizza by herself. Hopefully that means she's feeling fine! Finally got everyone drugged up and put to bed. Hopefully they stay in bed until morning, and I don't have any sick, feverish kids crawling into bed with me and coughing in my face. N will be gone most of the day tomorrow. Looking forward to it!

It will be a miracle if I make it out of this without getting sick myself. And an even bigger miracle if none of the Malones, Haynies, Myers, Risenmays, Nielssens or Eagars end up getting sick after being around us this week - everyone say a prayer for Finny. We will be hibernating until everyone is well - so don't expect to see any of us the next few days... what do you want to bet I'll be heading to the doctor again on Tuesday for either A or myself?? UGH. I'm so thankful I only have three kids, and I don't have a job. I can't imagine how a working mom, or someone with more children, can deal with and arrange a whole mess of sick kids.

Other than that this week, I've spent all my time on my computer designing vinyl ideas, making meals, paying copays, running to the pharmacy, cleaning up and listening to N armchair quarterback all my decisions on the kids' wellness. Sigh. What have you done this week??

Christmas Morning 2010

2011-01-08T08:35:00.000-08:00

I didn't take many pictures, but here are a few at least. Nonnie and Papa came up to visit, and we were up BRIGHT and EARLY to open presents. J was excited to get his marshmallow gun and a bike from Santa, and a remote control Lightning McQueen car from Nonnie - which he couldn't keep up with as it circled around and around his feet. Too funny. Nice goose egg on the forehead, J. I swear he had a bump and/or bruise on his head the whole month of December. Family pictures were just doomed this year.

M got a didj to replace the one broken from last year,

and finally she got her PROOF that Santa exists - she had him "sighn here" on a note she left by his cookies. Does she look like a 90's rockstar in this photo or what? Notice that Santa left his initials "S.C." for her to see.

A couldn't have been more thrilled with her boxed set of 39 clues books.

White Elephant 2010

2011-01-08T08:15:00.000-08:00

My SIL Robyn is awesome. At our family white elephant party this year, instead of just stealing the gift you wanted from another player when it was your turn, you had to fight for it. We played "Minute to Win It" type games each time someone wanted to steal a gift. Hilarious. Robyn I think defended her popcorn bucket and lottery tickets like 5 or 6 times, and she came out a winner every time. This is me kicking Aubrey's tail as the first one to blow up, tie, and then pop a balloon.

Cameron never had a chance against Carl. Maybe that was due to the fact that Carl's left arm was totally blocking his path??

Robyn I think practices these games at home with her kids. She was good at EVERYTHING, including this game where she had to carefully thread penne noodles onto spaghetti with her mouth. Nate would have won, had he not celebrated prematurely. No dancing in the end zone, Nate.

Aubrey was a genius in wrapping herself in toilet paper. Check out this action shot.

I will never have another white elephant party WITHOUT doing it this way. Made everything way more interesting and fun! Brush up on your MTWI skills if you're coming to a party at my house!

School Parties 2010

2011-01-08T08:10:00.000-08:00

My kids are cute, if you hadn't noticed. Here's J at his little preschool Christmas party acting like he's singing, sort of, while Miss Janna sang a solo.

At the girls' school, there's an annual "winter" performance where each class or grade gets up and performs something. A's class did "Frosty the Snowman" and dressed one of their classmates up as he danced and skipped around the group. It was fun. I love the look on A's face here.

After making leis in school that day, M's class performed "Mele Kalikimaka" all dressed up in Hawaiian shirts and such. It was pretty cute, though I don't know why M's hands are up swaying in this picture when no one else's is...

This is a sample of the teacher gifts I made this year - cutting vinyl and then etching these jars. M and A's jars just said their teacher's name, and had an apple on them. Of course I had to put the "Happy Meadows" logo on J's for his teacher, though!

Gingerbread Houses 2010

2011-01-08T08:05:00.000-08:00

Once again the grandkids put on the nativity at Grandma's house, and then we put together gingerbread houses. My kids sure love their cousins, and have a great time whenever they get together with them. When did M become such a ham for the camera?

Such concentration! Such symmetry! J was proud to show me the candies he'd lined up along the top of the roofline.

A didn't get very far on her mini house because she was working with Poppy. Ahem.

Layer, upon layer, upon layer... This was a far cry from Colman's masterful tree house gingerbread house from a few years ago. I guess his girls have a thing or two to learn from him as builders. Ha!

Haircut

2011-01-08T08:01:00.000-08:00

Our little unwelcome critter friends forced us to cut some hair. Here's J sporting his short new do to start out December. If there's a cuter kid out there in the world, I'd like to see him. Honestly.

Polar Express 2010

2011-01-08T08:00:00.000-08:00

We had a super fun Thanksgiving weekend with all the Carters. We drove up to Williams and then took a train all the way to the North Pole to see Santa. We all wore our jammies, sang songs, drank hot cocoa, ate cookies, and then the big man himself came on the train to take photos with all the kids, and give them jingle bells. We also unknowingly exposed everyone in the family to lice. What can I say, that's how nice and giving we are. We like to share...

Here are most of the grandkids - I think this is the best I got, ha!

Oh how I love J's look in this photo. Isn't Livvy a doll?

Here we are getting ready to board the train...

That's a whole lot of Christmas jammies on a whole lot of Carter kids...

J sat on Poppy's lap to sing Christmas carols. I think this one must have been "HO HO HO, who wouldn't go..."

I can't decide which of these I like better - which do you think is worthy of the scrapbook page??

Santa was awesome... how is it he was the only one looking at the camera for the photo??

Christmas Recap. Pictures forthcoming.

2011-01-05T17:17:00.000-08:00

Polar Express weekend with all the Carters. LICE. Decorating for Christmas. SRP's Christmas party and holiday boutique for the Two Chicks. Nonnie and Papa coming to visit. Ward Christmas party where the kids sang "Hark the Herald Angels Sing" beautifully. Treadmill. Shopping on Ebay. Dentist appointment. Birthday for S - number 36 - ouch. Lunch with friends. Trips to the post office. Wrapping presents. Swapping babysitting with friends. Another holiday boutique for the Two Chicks. Birthday/White elephant/Appetizer/Christmas party with old friends. Cutting vinyl. Another dentist appointment. Winter music program at the school. Trip to the Children's Museum. Dealing with tantrums. Treadmill. Shopping with Lisa. Dinner at the Grand Lux and my first taste of beignets - yum. White elephant party with the inlaws including "Minute to Win It" games. Awesome puppet show in Mesa. Being COLD. Cutting more vinyl. Using lots and lots of coupons at Fry's. Finding some awesome black BOOTS! Another dentist appointment. Candy cane Joe-Joe's. Sewing project. Nonnie and Papa coming up to visit. Bringing out all the pretty dishes for Christmas Eve dinner. Pie. More candy cane joe-joes. Santa coming and bringing a great bike for J. Marshmallow guns. Lots of presents to open. Gift exchange with the cousins. Prime Rib and more joe-joes - chocolate-covered joe-joes no less. Wow. More pie. Trip to Safford. Games. Casa. J riding his new bike all day long at Papa's house. Gila Valley Temple. Casa. Haircuts. Dealing with more tantrums. Home again, home again, jiggity jig - now where to put all this stuff... is it any wonder I didn't get Christmas cards out this year??

Christmas Letter Draft

2010-12-15T21:17:00.000-08:00

I may or may not get our family picture taken this month. And I may not ever get Christmas cards sent. I know, shocker. After 12 years of marriage, this is a first.
Please know that if this season was paved with good intentions, well, then all of you would be riding along smoothly with the top down and admiring my cute handmade card featuring a picture of our adorable, photoshopped family as you drove. Huh? I think I lost myself in that analogy there. Anyhoo, here's a rough draft of our Christmas low-down, in case you're just dying to read about us.

N - still working for SRP, though in a different position now. His new title is the "Business Area Representative" for the Power division. AKA, the "Power BAR". Insert funny comment here.
- still serving in the bishopric, playing basketball 3-4 times a week, and participating in several networking and strategic groups at work.
- tries to keep up on a couple of TV shows, but usually falls asleep once his backside hits the couch, because of the previous.
- got himself a brand new (old) car this summer, and not surprisingly it's exactly the car that his wife was wanting. It's a lovely little Honda Accord that's super fun to drive, oh-so-comfortable, and has all the right options, and our old truck with its faulty transmission and its inability to fit nicely in our garage is GONE. Hooray!

S - finally broke down and got glasses a few months ago. She is still getting used to them, and forgets to wear them lots of days.
- participated in not one, but TWO 12-week fitness challenges this year, and in the process lost more than 25 pounds. Struggling to maintain it during all the goodies of the holidays, not to mention the discovery of lovely QT sodas...
- is able to keep up on a lot of TV shows while running on her treadmill almost daily. Santa brought it to our house last Christmas, and we're SO glad he did!
- started a little business with a friend designing, cutting and selling vinyl - including wall words, signs, frames, and just about anything else they can think of to throw vinyl on. Check out their stuff at twovinylchicks.blogspot.com!

A - is nine years old now and has been attending Activity Days for more than a year. She's growing up so fast we can't believe it sometimes.
- got braces on her bottom teeth in January to correct a couple of problems, and was able to avoid the need for oral surgery (hooray!) She will get them off in the spring, and then we have her "real" braces to look forward to in a couple of years.
- is still doing gymnastics, and had fun swimming for the El Prado Waterdogs (I know, you don't have to tell me it's a dumb mascot name) on Swim Team this summer. She is small for her age group, but still did pretty well in the meets. It helps that we had several friends on our team with us!
- is a THIRD grader now and doing great! She loves school and hanging out with her friends and can't fathom ever moving away or attending another school.
- has become an avid reader, devouring the Percy Jackson series, the Tales from the Odyssey series, the 39 Clues books, everything by Judy Blume, plus anything else Mommy can dig up from the library. Ask her anything about Greek mythology and you'll be impressed. She stays up for hours nightly reading and re-reading her favorites.
- is addicted to computer games and is a sucker for any cross-promotional cards that come with books. She has moved on from Webkins and is now an expert with Club Penguin, 39 Clues, Fandango...

M - is growing like a weed. Mommy can hardly keep her in clothes or shoes, and it's a daily struggle to find something that still fits for her to wear. She's growing out of her mouth too, as her permanent teeth are struggling to find a place among all the crowded baby teeth. Looks like we'll be pulling several of those, just like we had to do with A's teeth.
- turned out to be quite the strong swimmer during Swim Team this summer. She came in first place in most of her races at each meet.
- is a big FIRST grader now. Math is a piece of cake for her, and as long as we stay organized with homework, M is one of the top students in class. We scored the same teacher both girls had for kindergarten, which has been a huge blessing.
- is a super big sister to J, and a super help to Mommy around the house. She and A start a dozen different "clubs" and art projects around the house each week - they're always planning something. Right now there's a sign on her bedroom door announcing that anyone who wants to come in has to recite all 50 state names in alphabetical order (because she can, you know). Anyone who can't list the states can NEVER come in again. Be warned.

J - is a whopping 3 years old now! He is potty trained, pretty much, and he goes to a little preschool once a week.
- is a sweetheart and literally walks around the house all day saying "I luf you mom..." He tells N that "You're my good boy, Da-eee"
- follows me around all day and talks my ear off. This kid has a LOT to say. I can't believe we were ever worried about him talking. Ha!
- has three favorite questions. Why? Why? and Why?????? He always makes his tone sound like "Whatever you're asking me to do is absurd, mom."
- has a best friend, truly. He is concerned about Finny at all points in his day. If he wants fruit snacks, he gets two packages, one for him, one for Finny. If he's tired, he wonders if Finny is taking a nap. If he's getting ready for church, he wants to go see Finny in his class. Heaven help their Sunbeam teacher in January. Together, these two are a handful!

Our Family - went to Disneyland twice this year. We may not be able to travel to extravagant locales, but we love that our timeshare allows us, at least, to afford Disney and its "canned family time" as N calls it. Hee hee.
- sweated our way through swim meets each week this summer. Man, it's hot at 5pm in Phoenix in July.
- spent a weekend apart when N & S took a couple of days to attend a family wedding in Safford in July. It was great to spend time with all the Scotts - and the new Ferrins too!
- survived just fine when Mommy took a girls' trip for a weekend to SoCal. Well, thanks to Grandma, that is. S got a much-needed break.
- spent Thanksgiving weekend traveling to the North Pole. We took the Polar Express train all the way to see Santa, and it was awesome!
- all experienced lice for the first time when we discovered the critters in the girls' hair. UGH, was that an awful few days.
- is looking forward to Christmas at home with Nonnie and Papa, and then traveling to Safford to see more family.

Christmas Boutique

2010-12-08T23:18:00.001-08:00

This is our last hurrah before Christmas - come check out this boutique in North Mesa this weekend! YES, we've added new stuff this week that you'll love! Too fun! It's all day Friday and Saturday, and the best part is you can BRING YOUR KIDS to play on the gymnastics equipment WHILE YOU SHOP! How cool is that?? See you there!

Need a laugh??

2010-12-06T11:46:00.000-08:00

Big hair, leggings, layered shirts on top...

Come One, Come All!

2010-12-03T14:52:00.000-08:00

Looking for something totally fun to do with your family tomorrow? Want to come to one of the TWO CHICKS' awesome craft shows? Need to get pictures taken with Santa? Want to see him fly in on a helicopter? Want to let your kids play in the snow without having to drive half the day to get to it? Are you a fan of kettle corn and fry bread?? Have I got the solution for you!!! All you need is 3 bucks a ticket, or better yet, 3 cans of food for each ticket to get in. Clean out your pantry to donate to charity and come on over!

See? I'm not that behind after all.

2010-12-01T20:56:00.000-08:00

December 1st - Even though Christmas looks like it has thrown up in my front room, at least the Christmas tree is up & mostly decorated. Blog has been decorated for Christmas as well. We survived Thanksgiving, and had a wonderful time at the inlaws' house in Scottsdale - even though J ended up with the flu that day. We also got to see SANTA on our trip to the North Pole this weekend. Had such a fun time on the Polar Express train along with all of our cousins! Pictures forthcoming. Discovered the most unpleasant creatures in the girls' hair when we got home Saturday night. UGH. Sorry to everyone we exposed in the last week - I hope everyone has been checking thoroughly and is clean! Spent an obscene amount at Walgreens getting anything and everything to clean, comb, shampoo, treat and spray every head along with every surface in our home. Seriously the biggest nightmare of my life. Still making my way through all the laundry, and the girls have been nit-free, we think, for 24 hours now. Crossing my fingers that we're out of the woods now with it, 'cause man, I couldn't handle another day with everybody home from school. Busy getting prepared for another craft show on Saturday. This one should be a good one, at N's work Christmas party. I heard Santa will be flying in on a helicopter to see everyone - fun fun! Now if we could only figure out what to ask him to get all of us for Christmas... I would like an extra week before Christmas, please, and an extra pair of hands to attach for the month as well, I think!

Ack!

2010-11-23T20:48:00.000-08:00

Where is the time GOING? Thanksgiving is less than 27 hours away now - I have yet to have my kids officially write to Santa, have NOT planned out what I'm getting for anyone on my list, have NOT taken a family photo yet (or even planned what exactly we're going to wear for such photo), I have NOT planned my Christmas cards (usually they're in FULL SWING by now) I have NOT purchased what I need to make my portion of Thanksgiving dinner, I have NOT checked my turkey to see if it's thawed yet (it's been three days since I bought it and had to put it in the fridge because of lack of space in the freezer, probably time to brine and cook that bad boy), nor do I have a plan or recipe of how I'm going to do such, I have NOT started packing for a mini trip we're taking this weekend, it has NOT occurred to me that we might not all have appropriate winter shoes or coats for such a trip, I have NOT dealt with the fact that I only have ONE pair of jeans that fits, and doesn't feel like they're falling off, I have NOT completed several custom vinyl orders asked of the Two Chicks, I have NOT even settled up and figured out how much $$ we made last weekend at our craft show, I have NOT dusted all the shutters in the house like I'd planned to do before the installer comes bright and early tomorrow morning to put more in the loft... ugh. Better get to work...

Crazy Cool Crafting - Again!

2010-11-19T08:34:00.000-08:00

We're in another boutique Saturday - that's tomorrow! This one is bigger and better - don't miss it! We have added several new products in the last week!

Life is good.

2010-11-15T09:55:00.000-08:00

I am grateful for my kids. They are smart, and fairly well-behaved, and funny. I don't need to mention that they are super cute. J likes to bring me flowers he picks out of the yard sometimes. The last time he brought me two bright red hibiscus flowers, handed them to me "Here Mom! They are for you." and then, "Don't die them." Ha!

I am grateful for my talents, and my many projects going on. (My husband is not quite as grateful for all of my many projects going on, however.) We survived our craft show this weekend, and I think we did okay selling at least some of our stuff . Still need to figure out if we broke even, though. : ) We are looking forward to doing other sbows and boutiques in the future.

I am grateful for Finny. J has such a good time with him.

I am grateful for Arizona weather. It ROCKS right now.

Had a great workout this morning thanks to Cindy. Tomorrow morning, when I can't walk or lift my kid, I just may change my attitude, though.

I am grateful for my family, and for my husband's family. Everybody is funny, and fun to be around. My kids play wonderfully with their cousins.

Soup is awesome. Please send me your favorite soup recipe - I want to find some fun new ones! My mouth is watering thinking about Aubrey's potato-apple soup I had yesterday. Yum. I could totally eat soup every day.

Projects on the horizon: getting shutters installed in the playroom this week, visiting Deirdre and Oakley, half a day of school on Wednesday, getting ready for the school fall carnival on Friday night, coordinating family pictures sometime in the next week or so, a couple of custom vinyl orders to get ready, designing an ad for Justin, finishing the painting in the girls' room, getting hair cuts for my girls, making a scrapbook for some friends who are moving away, figuring out my Christmas cards and sending them out, finishing sewing J's quilt and setting up his twin bed, getting my carpets cleaned, planning my birthday party...

In case you haven't heard...

2010-11-12T19:06:00.000-08:00

Tomorrow is the big day! We (aka the TWO CHICKS) are so excited to be in this here craft show tomorrow!

Come check it out! I've seen some products of one of the other vendors and I was giddy, everything was so cute! And unbelievably priced! You HAVE to come visit us tomorrow! Please please! We've got show specials, gimmicks, and even t-shirts that match our booth! Ha! Hope to see you there! 9am -1pm 740 E. 2nd. Avenue, Mesa AZ 85204 - It's right around the corner from the temple. Look for the signs and balloons to lead you in! See you there!

Grateful - the next few days.

2010-11-10T19:30:00.000-08:00

1. Grateful that our little craft show is almost here, because I'm tired of making stuff! I figure whatever gets done, gets done, whatever does not, no one will ever know we intended to do it. Right?

2. Grateful for my treadmill, which enables me to burn at least a few calories a day and keep current on all my TV shows. (By the way, have you seen the show on DIY called "House Crashers" ? The host, Josh Temple. is my new TV crush!)

3. Grateful that two of my children are asleep in bed, and that the third is not bugging me at the moment.

4. Grateful for Jackie, who is always willing to watch J for me at a moment's notice, pitch in on projects, and has pudding when I need it to borrow. And also, grateful for Finny, who is hands-down-J's-favorite-person. He wonders about him, and talks about him, all day long. When I was tucking him in he asked me if Finny was asleep in his bed too? Sweet.

5. Grateful for the weather. I wore a hoodie today! Granted, I still had on capris and flip flops, but it was ideal. I love that I can wear shorts to go play volleyball, or jeans and my boots to run errands in - either is perfectly fine at the moment in AZ.

6. Trying to grit my teeth and be grateful that I get to go on M's field trip as a chaperone on Friday, even when I have so many things to do. Ugh. No, really, I'm totally grateful she WANTS me to go.

Dear Santa, EDIT

2010-11-06T00:55:00.000-07:00

or the anniversary fairy,
or the birthday fairy,
(or any of the above)

I would like, in no particular order, one of these lovely camera bags:

http://jototes.com/handbags/rose-raspberyy

and one of the big-bag versions of the Miche bag, along with a couple of shells - I think the "hope" and the "delilah" and possibly the "lexi"

http://www.michebag.com/home

and this software program to use with my Cricut, "Sure Cuts a Lot"

http://www.craftedge.com/products/products.html

along with a few colors of vinyl to play with,

and oh, still wanting my carpet cleaned in a bad way,

and I would love a weekend away with my hubby somewhere...

You can fit all that in your sleigh, right?

Grateful Month - The first few days

2010-11-04T22:42:00.000-07:00

1. The other Vinyl Chick. Everyone should have a friend like Lisa. She threw one heck of a Halloween party over the weekend, complete with trick-or-treating and all the gross-out food you can imagine. (I made the vomit myself - it was fantastic!)

Not all invitees showed up, but it was still fun, even though N slept on the couch through most of it. We played a game of Atmosfear (an old college favorite) until I could barely keep my eyes open, but at least I WON, and the kids all went home with gobs of candy. I woke up the next day weighing 7 pounds more than I did the day before. - no lie. But seriously, I am so grateful that Lisa's now in the Valley (albeit on the whole other side of such from me) and that she's willing to hang out and do any and all projects on a moment's notice. She loves to go all-out for every event, and is so fun to be around!

2. SRP. Although they keep my hubby from us way longer each day than I would like, they are about the most stable place that we can be, and they have treated N pretty well the last month, including a promotion and two raises, with one more possibly on the horizon next month. (!)

3. J - oh man, does my little guy make me smile. He has lots of opinions on things nowadays, and his memory is shockingly good. He loves to hide, and then jump out and shout "BOO" at the top of his lungs when Daddy is walking in the door from work each night. When we are getting in the car to go somewhere, he usually runs out into the driveway, or the front yard, and literally runs in circles "I running round, Mom!" a few times before he gets in the car. Funny, except when we're late. Here he is very intently decorating his pumpkin with foamies.

This mound is J and Finny hiding from me under a blanket on my bed.

4. Today I'm grateful that
I got my errands run no sweat
I got to go to the grocery store without J
I finished a few more vinyl projects for our craft fair next weekend
I got most of the Halloween decorations got put away and Thanksgiving mostly put out
A got a new wire put in her braces
Alison and Sara recommended Melatonin to me, and it's been much calmer around here at bedtime for a certain 7-yr-old.

Ideal Protein Diet

2010-10-27T23:09:00.000-07:00

No, I have not done this diet but I have watched several people in the last year melt away by doing it. (And do it a LOT faster than I have, trying to exercise it all off) This video is of my sis-in-law's sister, and if you can get past the "reporter" at the beginning, this is interesting to watch. My SIL has also been doing this diet for a while and has lost more than 100 pounds as well. Go Carolyn - and Karen!

Pumpkin Festival

2010-10-26T10:09:00.000-07:00

Well, I guess if you can't go wear sweatshirts and cut your pumpkin off the vine in a real field, this is the next best thing! We went to the Desert Botanical Garden on Saturday for their Pumpkin Festival (Thanks J for the heads up!) The weather was perfect, and the kids had a good time wandering around all the game booths and collecting their prizes, then we went on a hayride (of sorts) to go to the hay maze and pumpkin patch where all the kids got to pick out, then decorate, their own pumpkins. They also had a little petting zoo. J was very concerned that some other kids were trying to pick up the chickens "Put the titten DOWN!" I also decided the best way to torture me - play some awful, heavily twangy music and then make me stand in line in front of a very loud speaker while my children are tired and whiny. Fun!

Upcoming Craft Fair

2010-10-22T23:30:00.000-07:00

The lovely Amber Tryon has invited us to be a part of her annual craft fair over in Mesa in just THREE WEEKS - so Lisa and I have been busy preparing to hopefully sell all kinds of vinyl-laden crafts. So excited! Do you want anything? How about one of these? Or one of these gorgeous frames(which we'll be offering in two sizes) We're still working on details, samples, and figuring out pricing for everything. Will you come visit us? It will be on Saturday, November 13th from 8am-1pm. 740 E 2nd Ave, Mesa just down the street from the temple. There will also be signs, wooden plaques, Christmas nativity project kits, unique frames, and more! Not to mention all the fun stuff that all the other vendors are doing! See you there!

Hoo-boy

2010-10-22T07:37:00.000-07:00

do the girls need their own rooms. The fighting has gotten unbearable, and we're having sleeping issues. I'm perfectly willing to move A downstairs to the guest room, but it's packed FULL! Need to sell the secretary/bookshelf STAT, buy a lamp and find some other place to store an entire closetful of Costco/pantry items/food storage. ugh, we need a bigger house.

Thursday thoughts.

2010-10-21T15:18:00.000-07:00

• We got all the hail-ish dents in N's car fixed and picked it up today. We found a company to do it "paintless" for much less than the insurance estimated, so hooray for the insurance check covering the whole repair - and hopefully the A/C repair too, without us having to shell out the $500 deductible. And the car looks PERFECT - without having to get it repainted (part of me is bummed, though, I wanted to repaint it blue!)

• I went to DI this week (so random, I NEVER go to DI or thrift stores or anywhere!) and found some fun deals - including two fabulous pairs of boots! Need to find a cute brown skirt STAT so I can wear the knee-high ones! Thank you to whomever donated the size 8 brown suede boots to DI - they are great!

• Lisa and I have been working furiously on vinyl the last couple of weeks, between Super Saturday projects and several other random orders for friends. We are planning to do a craft fair and sell stuff in the middle of November, and are toying with the idea of putting on our own "Santa's Workshop" day in Nov. as well. Would you go to the craft fair and buy stuff like THIS , already finished? Would you rather come to a Santa's workshop and put projects together yourself, instead? Do you know anyone who WOULD come to such things? Do you want me to send you an invitation??

• J has been about 50/50 with potty training lately - he is perfect with #1, but seems to have issues with #2 a lot of days - sigh. Not sure how to motivate him to stay clean every day. Sunday = accident, Mon-Wed = perfect, last night = wet the bed, today = accident. Hmmm...

• We're still trying to figure out Halloween over here. M's going to be a Bee, (and Mommy and N and J might join her as bees too) and A wants to be a tree, but I haven't made any progress toward anyone's costumes yet.

• Recess, recess, recess has become a hot topic the last few weeks. Our school board arbitrarily cut afternoon recess without consulting any parents or getting a vote on the issue, and many many parents are ticked off about it, but I kind of see both sides of the issue now and I'm not sure how I feel about it. I know my kids severely miss the recess that was cut, and I as well want them to have a short break in the afternoons, but if it truly is going to cause the school year to have to be extended, and if the teachers really don't like it because it's disrupting teaching time, then..... well I just don't know. School board meeting is tonight - we'll see how it all goes down.

Monday with M

2010-10-18T10:15:00.000-07:00

We're in the bad part of M's mood cycle, it seems. It been rough for the last few days; something is always setting her off and making her upset. Last night after throwing a massive fit at Grandma's house and screaming and kicking our seats all the way home, she tore off all the covers on her own bed and ended up sleeping on the guest bed, in her underwear, because she refused to do anything else - sigh. This morning she was a cranky zombie walking around, so I suggested she go run on the treadmill (Hey, it totally cheers me up!) and she perked up instantly. She ran/walked for almost 5 minutes, until A got involved and wanted to do it too, sigh... but it helped, I think, a little. After going upstairs to get ready (thank goodness her favorite skirt was clean!) she had on a hoodie over her shirt, as well as leggings under her skirt, when she asked me if I thought it was going to be hot today. When I said yes, probably, and suggested she take either the hoodie or the leggings off, that set her off again, she freaked and threw a fit. She finally, reluctantly got in the car to go to school, but was sobbing by the time I dropped her off. Sigh. I wish there was injection I could give her that was a liquid form of "sleep".

If I had ten grand...

2010-10-11T15:26:00.000-07:00

I would get every sqare inch of carpet and upholstery in my house professionally cleaned.

I would get N's car fixed and be free of all the hail-induced dents.

I'd buy myself some new running shoes that aren't falling apart, AND some new volleyball-only shoes.

I would schedule my root canal and go ahead and spring for four brand new veneers for my front teeth, and have them perfect and straight and not discolored, once and for all.

I would get shutters for all 3 west/south windows in my horribly hot loft, plus in the guest room downstairs.

I would build in a desk in the back corner of my living room that would match my kitchen, complete with the same granite countertop and overhead maple spice cabinets, with lighting underneath to facilitate homework-doing, and act as a landing spot for mail and cell phones and Ipods and Blackberrys and keys and coupons, other than my kitchen.

I would buy N a new, superfast laptop to go on said built-in desk, so bills could be paid downstairs, and all internet surfing and playing could be in a very open, common area instead of hidden up in my office upstairs. Then I could google to my heart's content WHILE watching my DVR'd shows.

I'd get rid of our sad, disgusting sectional and buy some very high-quality leather furniture for downstairs (Oh wait, I only said 10 grand? Make it 15.)

I'd pay to get all my clothes altered so they'd fit me JUST RIGHT. And I'd make Amberly take me shopping until we found some awesome boots for me to wear.

I'd buy myself a super cute new camera bag that would also act as a purse.

I'd hire an awesome babysitter like Rachel for a few days, and fly myself and hubby to Maryland for our 12th anniversary weekend, which is coming up, take my awesome new bag and boots and stay in a bed and breakfast somewhere in New Market, and eat as much crab soup at Dutch's Daughter as I possibly could.

SIGH... maybe we could cancel our cell phones, skip paying the mortgage, stop eating, stop driving anywhere, and turn off all the electricity in our house for two months. Then MAYBE. Just maybe...

Thursday thoughts.

2010-10-07T12:35:00.000-07:00

• Birthdays came and went last week for the girls. No big hurrah this year at seven and nine years old, just a few small gifts and special meals with parents and grandparents. We'll make up for it big time next year and do a party up right for the big 2-digit "10" and biggie "8" birthdays.
• Conference started well with comfy nests made up on the floor, plenty of conference activities and notebooks - but ended the way it always does with and the cheap toys broken already, and some good naps.
• Nonnie and Papa visited over the weekend; we attempted to watch conference and got a few things repaired, but mostly played a whole lot of games of Bump-O. Papa made the game for the girls for their birthdays, and MAN do they love it. It's a fixture on the kitchen table, at least for a while. We've already lost all the green marbles, though, oops.
• Made two Halloween wreaths over the weekend - pictures forthcoming.
• Cleaned out most of the fridge this week. Found not one, not two, but three tupperware full of adobo peppers (apparently I make Café Rio pork a lot, but never know what to do with the peppers afterward)
• We're on fall break this week, and as much as I thought we should spend a quiet week at home, I'm now trying everything I can do to avoid that, since "quietness" and "home from school" don't really go together after all. It's more along the lines of "screaming" and "chaos".
Monday: After I worked my triceps into a tizzy, ouch, we hung out with friends at an only slightly ghetto-ish indoor amusement park called Jeeperz or Jambo or something in Mesa - kids had a great time, and Mom could actually afford it with a $1 entrance special. We didn't get ripped off until we decided to buy tokens and let the kids play games, and then trade their tickets in for "prizes". Oh brother, how I hate those things. I had to carry J out of the place screaming because he'd changed his mind and wanted something different, and I had to listen to M whine for half the day Tues because she'd already lost her mini finger-skateboard. Sheesh. We spent dinner and an evening of decorating with some friends.
Tuesday: once I finally got going and finished my treadmill stint, we were off to the Children's Museum - and thank goodness we didn't get there a moment sooner; it was packed. It did clear out after lunchtime, though, and we were able to hang out practically by ourselves in the afternoon. We then braved the torrential downpour (of rain, and of M's complaining) and headed over to gymnastics. I dropped the crew off and decided to make a quick trip to Joann's - wow, was I ever dumb. I got stuck in major rain and traffic and flooding and UGH, it took me forever. At least J got a nap in the process.
• I've been thinking about our little gymnastics habit lately - and how it's more of a convenient habit for me, to take turns carpooling and have an excuse to shop Tempe/Ahwatukee every couple of weeks, versus the girls actually learning and progressing and getting exercise. M still can't do a decent cartwheel - after two years. I'm not criticizing the place nor the teachers there. It's just a matter of barely being able to afford just one hour class per week. This habit may be ending when 2010 does, I think.
• Storm score: Hail, 3, Carters, 0. N's pretty new car has about 2 dozen dents now, and our stucco on our house has golf-ball sized chunks out of it in several places. Window screens on the east side of the house are torn up as well. At least we don't have any broken windows.
Wednesday: I found that it's actually do-able to take all three kids shopping with me. Well, at least to Walmart and Target, anyway. I had a dentist appt. in the afternoon where they took more x-rays - I have an abcessed front tooth that will need a root canal shortly, and I'm hoping to get four veneers in the process as well. We'll see how much of it the insurance will pay for... I don't have high hopes.
• A has an ortho appt in a few minutes, so I guess it's time to shower & dress for the day (yes, it's after noon)

Here you go Tara.

2010-10-01T09:37:00.000-07:00

I met a slightly older version of myself while in San Diego last weekend - and she was oh-so fabulous. These pics are for her. Tara - I haven't done my album yet, but here's the photo I copied to make my stand. Mine looks just like this. Everything is from Michael's.

To-Do List

2010-10-01T07:41:00.000-07:00

Seems I can always get more done when I can SEE a LIST written down - and since I tend to sit at my computer several times a day, and can't keep track of a piece of paper to save my life, here it goes - warning: boring post...

Set up P/T conference with A's teacher
Send registration info back
Follow up on RPM folders
Finish Halloween decorating
Paint more snakes and finish Medusa wreath
Pay tithing on Sunday
Buy new toothpaste for the girls
Get more water softener salt
New bathroom rugs from Target
Get Kerri's vinyl cut and sent off
Finish sewing J's quilt together
List PB dots on Ebay
Schedule carpet cleaning
Get remaining pics printed for scrapbook pages
Print out journaling blocks and put on
Get root canal scheduled (pleasant, right?)

Love my girls.

2010-09-28T11:11:00.000-07:00

No I'm not referring to the ones I gave birth to, but rather the ones I choose to hang out with whenever I can. hee hee! I spent a glorious weekend in SoCal with my best gal pals - and even though we seemed to take the heat from Phoenix WITH us instead of escaping it, we still had a great time. We learned all sorts of interesting things about each other {And what was heard in the Armada STAYS in the Armada!} We spent hours cricut-ing (is that a verb?), swapping ideas for, and creating scrapbook pages (I think D got 20 pages completed!) We ate great food in and out of restaurants; I had a pazookie for the first time and will for certain be ordering the Pasta Rustica again the next time I visit Macaroni Grill. J's dad should seriously open a little gourmet sandwich shop. Remembering my asiago cheese-bacon-tomato-avacado-turkey sandwich is making my mouth water right now. And by the way, Boston Miller has to be the most entertaining kid I know. "Speaking of whatever you were just talking about.... " And "Get ready for the funniest joke you've ever heard. You're going to laugh your head off..."! Too cute! Thanks Ashlee for sharing your boys with us for lunch!

We also spent a whole morning wandering around at garage sales where I don't know if I found what I was after, exactly, but I did come home with lots of totally random treasures - including a couple of rubber snakes (project to be unveiled at a later date). Here's all of our stuff so artfully packed back into D's car. DANG, I told myself I would never stand next to Amberly in pictures anymore. Oops.

We could have use another couple of days away, as there was still many, many things on our to-do list that we didn't get to - pedicures, bra shopping, haircuts, card-making classes, beach, pool, reading.... but hey, there's always next year...that is, if J's Mom and Dad will have us back...

This was my favorite pic from the weekend - Here I am with my fat calves in an awesome motorized recliner on wheels at a garage sale. The homeowner had crafted it himself out of a wheelchair's mechanics. It had a joystick to move it around and everything, and even a spot to hold your ice chest full of beverages INSIDE the chair. Super cool. I was impressed with the guy's ingenuity, to say the least.

So many crafts to make, so little time.

2010-09-20T17:35:00.000-07:00

http://eighteen25.blogspot.com/2010/09/todays-guest-sisters-stuff.html

Dare I say it??

2010-09-20T17:24:00.000-07:00

TRAINED.

We will stay in Pull-ups at night for a while, but he really hasn't needed those either, so it's really more for my peace of mind when he tends to drink too much at night. J is awesome, if I do say so myself.

Get on board the Potty Train!

2010-09-17T23:04:00.000-07:00

99% of you reading probably couldn't care less about this particular posting - so feel free to click away to some other, more interesting website now.

Many of you who have spoken to me in the last few weeks know that I'm obsessed with potty training at the moment, and I'm bound and determined to make this work with J. Right now. As of a week ago, he protested (read: yelled at the top of his lungs) any time I tried to put him in anything but a diaper. He wanted no part of pullups or of "big boy" underwear. I knew this was the week to do it, so we casually ran out of diapers over the weekend, and only had a few pull-ups left by the beginning of the week. On Monday, we went and picked out some new big boys for him - and even though he kept trying to take them out of our cart and put them back on the shelf, we still came home with lots of fun ones. Tuesday began the fun with Lightning McQueen! (He started off wanting to wear them all backwards, so the big characters were on the front instead of on his bum, funny) I was thrilled that he would wear the things at ALL, but we had no successes that day. Wednesday and Thursday morning we went back to pullups because of our schedule, but starting Thursday afternoon we went cold turkey. Score was 3 successes, 2 accidents. Not too bad. Today's score was better with 4 successes, 2 accidents - and 2 of those successes were NOT AT HOME - yeah! He actually stayed dry from 3pm until bedtime. Awesome. I'm trying to keep this a positive experience for both of us. He gets a few M&Ms with every success, which is working pretty well so far. Don't judge me when you find out he's a sitter - it honestly didn't occur to me to have him stand up while he "went" - and now he absolutely won't. Oops. Wish us luck tomorrow - hopefully we'll have a #2 success soon too! He is great at telling us when he needs to go, and he's quite tired of us asking him every two seconds "Are you still dry? Do you need to go potty?" but so far so good. I'm keeping him in Pull-ups for nighttime for now, because I have no idea how else to do it - he wakes up earlier than me and is always soaked by the time I get up. Any advice on how/when to do nighttime too?

Deirdre, will you make me one of these??

2010-09-11T14:54:00.000-07:00

How can I score some ASU fabric/embroidered Sparky to create this reversible tote - anyone??

Thursday thoughts.

2010-09-09T13:05:00.000-07:00

It's been a very good couple of weeks - why, you ask?
- Fitness challenge is OVER
- I read "Mockingjay" and though didn't love the ending, really, really ended up liking the series overall.
- J loves his preschool class and is so proud to show you his projects
- N got a promotion
- small miracle - I had a thought one morning to go get something out of my car, immediately, and I found J in my front seat. He had popped out several "M&Ms" from their packaging and had them all laid out, ready to eat. I don't know what eating half a dozen adult-strength antihistamines would have done to him, but I'm glad I got there in time so we didn't have to find out.
- my sore throat/cough only turned into a cold, versus a nasty strep throat or sinus infection
- N took all three kids to the cabin last weekend, and I had 48 hours to myself
- I was able to get a bunch of scrapbook pages finished up
- I went shopping on Saturday for MYSELF and actually found a few shirts to wear that don't have holes or stains - amazing
- Went out with some old girlfriends on Saturday night and had a great time eating mexican food, laughing at a Jesterz show - and then enjoying dessert at Yogurtland
- I went to church ALL by myself - and yes I was on time - and actually was able to pay attention to what was going on in sacrament meeting
- Washed and vacuumed my car and got all the cabin dirt off of it
- Got the yard cleaned up on Monday and it looks SO much better
- Enjoyed FHE with some friends on Monday night
- Got a couple of vinyl projects designed
- Was able to make MUCH progress on J's quilt thanks to Grandma
- Got my A/C fixed for FREE even though we were three weeks out of the warranty period
- Went and helped out in M's classroom today. I love her teacher!

I want to make

2010-08-31T11:23:00.000-07:00

one of these - or at least something similar to it. I'm thinking little skulls or pumpkins instead of fans...

Materials:
15"–17" grapevine wreath
Dry twigs
Wired candy corn, spiders, skeletons, fans of orange paper
Spool of fishing line
Artificial web
Small skeleton
Instructions:
Insert dry twigs in a vine wreath.
Tie on wired candy corn, spiders, skeletons, fans of orange paper, etc. with fishing line.
Drape artificial web over wreath.
Tie on skeleton at bottom of wreath.

Merry merry

2010-08-27T09:47:00.000-07:00

Here's my project I'm teaching for Super Saturday in October. Cost will be no more than $15 (still looking for my best tin option) Size is 12" wide by 9" tall. Let me know if you want one!

Something else I want to make.

2010-08-17T15:38:00.000-07:00

This time, for my girls, not for me! I love the pleats, and the elastic in the back, and the big bow in the front. Hey, I could probably even make this in tan or navy and have them wear it to school!

http://www.makeit-loveit.com/2010/08/paper-bag-skirtand-hidden-mistake.html

What the shell is going on here anyway?

Happenings this month.

A poem.

2011 - the rundown

I hate clutter.

My Easy Life.

Mewwy Kwissmas.

Try these. Seriously.

I LOVE THIS.

Come on OVER!

Thanksgiving...

I love this boy SO MUCH.

An Attitude of Gratitude.

Oh Photo Shoot!

ALWAYS. MY WAY.

Update:

East Coast.

Go Devils.

Things on my mind:

Life is good.

Colors.

Call us up, if you want gangsta

Time for School! Time for School! Update.

THIS

Summahtime

Seven for Saturday.

Thoughts.

Phoenix vs. Mesa, the showdown

Blessings.

Beach kids. Edit.

Slowly but surely...

NEMO party *edit*

We.have.moved.

Wanna go to Disneyland?

Rough Life.

Don't cloche your eyes - you're going to want to see this.

House Project.

I can't be the only one...

Other stuff I like.

Moving and such.

If wishes were fishes...

A few great blogs to peruse.

B-b-b-Bennie and the Jetsssssss

I need Hermione's time turner.

Let me wipe the drool.

The Dresser. Before.

For Sale.

Get Lucky.

Idol - top 12 boys.

Flash Issues.

Idol.

Quiche 101.

I'd like your vote...

30 Projects in 30 days.

Happy Valentines Day

okay, just as soon as all my other projects are done...

These are a few of my favorite things.

Tick Tock, Watch the Clock!

Sweet Valentine, bless her heart.

Spinning my wheels.

I want to make stuff again.

snapshot.

I give up.

Christmas Morning 2010

White Elephant 2010

School Parties 2010

Gingerbread Houses 2010

Haircut

Polar Express 2010

Christmas Recap. Pictures forthcoming.

Christmas Letter Draft

Christmas Boutique

Need a laugh??

Come One, Come All!

See? I'm not that behind after all.

Ack!

Crazy Cool Crafting - Again!

Life is good.

In case you haven't heard...

Grateful - the next few days.

NEMO party edit

Dear Santa, EDIT