Happy Valentines Day?

The boys kept telling me that Daddy didn't have an apron...Can I just say that this was the most painful project I have worked on since I got my sewing machine - rotten pattern!!!! But I FINALLY got it done, and Andrew is just so very excited to be modeling it with his veggie grill tray.

He also was player of the week on his hockey team with two goals. Here he is posing with the Screaming Weasel (did I get that right? maybe it is Screeching Weasel) that he gets to keep for a week. I caught Seth and Gavin standing on our bed admiring it sitting on Daddy's dresser this week.
And can you say "cheap entertainment" - I froze some of their toys and a baby carrot in a bowl of ice. They spent a good chunk of time trying to get the stuff out of the ice. I am going to do this again for sure.
I have another project almost completed - it just needs grommets - but it is going to have to wait till I get back from Colorado this weekend. Speaking of Colorado... I better finish packing and get some sleep. I have a LONG drive in the morning! Back next week with pictures and stories.

Health update...

...I visited the ENT doc. I still have a severe sinus infection (since November) and he is doing one last ditch effort to cure me with drugs before I have to have a surgery to clear out my sinuses. And I get allergy tested in about a week and a half. Friday, I got a steroid shot in the butt and some heavy duty antibiotic to try and kick this thing. I told him about being so fatigued all the time, and he is pretty convinced we have a mold problem. So we are doing a mold test in the petrie dish tonight and are going to watch and see if anything grows in it. If the problem is mold, I think that means demolition in our master bath, treating that corner of the house for mold, and the attic (as my mother-in-law reminded us that there had been signs of previous mold damage up there - supposedly attended to, though), and then doing a bathroom remodel. This is one expensive sickness as we already paid a lot of $ to get the ductwork vacuumed out (but I could feel myself breathing easier right away.) So all that to say that everything is the same and we are just making a lot of guesses as to what is going on. Hopefully the next few days will at least confirm or eliminate the mold issue.

Making stuff again.

I had this bin of old t-shirts in my craft cabinet. Been carrying them around for a few moves. I was thinking of making a rug out of them or something. They had a tutorial for making rugs out of old t-shirts in the most recent Family Fun mag - using a hula hoop for a loom, no less. Even easier than what I was planning. I had enough to make a very small rug (a bunch of them would be really fun for a kids room) or a nice sized basket. Since I am in much need of digging out of the mess in the dining room (PAPER IS THE BANE OF MY EXISTANCE!) I have hatched a plan to use this and a hanging pocket organizer to bring some order to my home. I haven't made the pocket organizer - that is coming up next on my agenda this evening. Then to clean and organize my dining room and kitchen. Anyhow, here is my rainbow basket. 14 some t-shirts get a new life!

That should add some sunshine to our snowy/muddy day!

Beautiful beautiful snow.

Driving home last night in this snow was terrifying and beautiful all at the same time. Glad we made it safe. Wondering how my little crocus' are doing under their wet heavy blanket of snow. We do need the moisture here, but I am excited for warmer weather again so I can keep biking.

Making stuff.

I saw these balance boards on a blog post recently, and thought - this would be a great thing for Seth and Gavin to keep them busy and active inside. So yesterday I decided that instead of just thinking about it (or cleaning house, for that matter) we should just DO it. I got a stair tread that had been pulled off, and talked a friend into running to Menards with us to get duct tape, a dowel rod, and a smaller saw for the boys to use, and off we went. The boys got some lessons in safety and sawing (I got a great woodshop book that my Dad recommended - great info on woodworking with kids!). We clamped the board and dowel to the dining table to saw, and I think they are gonna need a workbench that is their height - the angles were all wrong for them, but they learned something, so it counts for school - right? AND the floors on that level got a good cleaning when we were done, so that is good, too! Then we duct taped the boards and dowels to our hearts delight, and then playtime. Do you know they are great for banging, also?

I think I am in love with duct tape. I wonder what else I will come up to tape up with it in the near future!?!

And we did some spelling/reading games with our alphabet beanbags that I FINALLY got finished. (Yay for finishing projects!)
Then we went shopping with friends. I don't think I can figure out a way to count that in as school today. Bummer.

Log 2 for this week.

Rode my bike to Bible study at Starbucks.
6.5 miles into a headwind the entire way.
Didn't know if I would make it.
Took 45 min.

Did it, glad that ride is done.
Now to pick my next ride.

I have to say, going somewhere, or meeting someone is really great incentive to finish a hard ride.

Log.

I know I am only supposed to be checking email, but today was... well, different. I did check some blogs and the news as well this morning, because we were in the crazy zone 30 min. after we woke up. However, I did fight back from discouragement by making a hot lunch, doing school with the boys, working on a project or two, putzing in the garden, and getting all the ductwork in our home cleaned out. I determined that even if it was raining (it never did rain) I HAD to get my first ride in on my newly tuned up bike. 12.8 miles. 1 hour 6 minutes. And there were my favorite people waiting for me at the end of the trail to cheer me on. It was very good. And Andrew discovered that one reason I don't like to work out really hard around anyone is that my face is red as a tomato. Thankfully it doesn't show too badly in my first biker chick photo. I have a LONG way to go before the big ride, but it feels good to have started. (side note: my glasses have 4 sets of lenses - dark, medium, light, and clear - they work like a windshield to protect your eyes - they look a little funny with the clear lenses in, but they worked great as I had quite a headwind for a while.)And we have the first bloom of spring in my garden today!
Not bad for a rough starting day and cloudy skies. Now, off to shower and do something non-electronic...

Offline.

Our family is sorely in need of time together without the crunch of life invading. So for this Easter season we are cutting back on extras - computer, tv, evening commitments - and spending time together. We are going to play, work, exercise, and worship together for the next few weeks and invest in and enjoy the family God has given us. This has been a heart wrenching decision, but with Andrew's work and school schedule, we couldn't figure out any other way to make time to rebond and heal our family up before Andrew's next deployment. So bye for now, and call or shoot me an email if you need me. (I will be checking email once a day with the timer ticking over my shoulder.) Love, and call me. :o)

p.s. Megan is the winner. A surprise will be in the mail sometime in the near future. Sorry, Mom, I can't come visit. You will have to wait to see me till summer. :o(!

Head Shot.

Well, I was going to post a picture of the inside of my head for you, but Andrew told me I should probably take my identifying info off, so you don't get to see all the gunk in my sinuses. :o) Lucky you! After a week on oodles of medication, I am still not improving as rapidly as I would like to. I go back to see the ENT after he gets back from his vacation in 2 weeks. Seth and Gavin were amazing and well behaved during my appt. (which I got chastised for bringing them), and they got to see a CT scan machine and see the pictures explained to them Everyone thought they were cute and well behaved (which they WERE! Huge improvements in the last few days!!!) in their monkey hat and tail and cowboy hat.

Part 2 of our day was a meeting with Mr. Joe who started our homestudy process. We have a lot of paperwork to fill out. The doozy is listing the places I have lived for the last 2o years. Mom- I will probably be calling you! :o)

Part 3 was going to Lego club, which turned out to be play outside like crazy with a bunch of kids in the beautiful weather. I got to visit with some great moms, and have a play date on tap for next week. I didn't take any pictures, but you can imagine a pack of 10+ boys, most ages 7-10 (with Seth and Gavin thrown in) all running around with swords, shields, empty nerf guns, etc. for a couple of hours. And they had a cool contraption - a tube that came with flooring on it that had been hooked up to the leaf blower to blow balls across the yard from the upstairs deck (and a laundry basket hoisting system to return the balls. Very imaginative and fun!

Part 4 - Journey group with our friends from church. I got to play with baby Alexis. She was particularly fussy tonight, so we went to the garage and watched the baby chicks peeping and eating, and then I sang to her for a while, and then she finally fell asleep in my arms. Nice baby fix. Now it is bedtime, and I have to decide if I want to take the boys to a parade in the morning, swimming at the Y or both. Oh, and do paperwork. :o)

Maybe you will get to see some pictures soon. Lots of love, everybody!

P.S. Leave me a comment. You might win something!

Random.

Things you need to tell your sons that you didn't know you needed to:
1. Don't put little girls in laundry baskets.
2. Don't peel apples onto the kitchen floor.

Things you did tell your sons that they didn't pay attention to:
1. Don't write on Mommy's house or furniture.
2. Be quiet during quiet time.
3. Say "Yes, Maam" and obey when you are given instructions.

Things to do:
1. Make dinner again. (Do these men ever stop eating?????!!!!)
2. Think wistfully about the nap you were swiftly woken up from during quiet time.
3. Forgive yourself for your meltdown that followed being woken up abruptly.
4. Be thankful for your husband financing your biking hobby, and all the toys that come with it.
5. Get off the computer since you already found the recipe you needed for dinner 5 minutes ago.

Yum

I made up my own muffin recipe today with what I had on hand. It was very yummy. I think I will be making up more recipes.

1 overripe banana
2/3 c. packed brown sugar
2 eggs
1 c. blended organic coconut milk
dash of vanilla
2 c. flour
2 eggs
1/2 t. salt
1 T. baking powder
1 t. cinnamon
fresh blueberries

Sprinkled with cinnamon and raw sugar on top. Baked 400 for 15 min. 1 1/2 dozen muffins.

Boys.

My boys have been getting so big lately. So responsible and helpful. I have been challenged so much as a parent in the last weeks, and I feel the weight of parenting so very much. I am trying to soak in these last months of "little boy" and look forward to what is ahead. Gavin sees things that need done and does them without being asked. Seth is finally starting to "get it" with school and piano. I think maybe he was interested, but not really ready before. I gave Gavin my Cody shirt this week. For those of you who don't know - Cody, WY was my favorite place I ever lived. I loved the mountains, the outdoor adventures, my friends, my church. When we had to move I was devastated. And them my dad came home with this shirt. It was huge on me at the time, and I wore it for several years. Gavin's middle name is Cody in honor of the love and beauty and adventure that go with the memories of living there. How cool that it is yellow, too - Gavin's favorite color! I also learned something about Seth that I did not know. I knew he loved airplanes and talks about them all the time. I kind of figured that was from just being around the base and planes all the time. Well, I found out that he dreams about flying all. the. time. How did I not know that my boy's dreams are filled with flying. I really believe that God gives us our hopes and dreams, so we will be prayerfully seeking to find out what God has in mind for this red-headed boy of mine. Here are just a few pictures of goofing off with my boys this week:

Oh, did I mention that it is "spring" since it is March. And the boys got to get their "Daddy" haircuts again. :o) (Never mind that it snowed for a bit this morning - the robins are here, the bulbs are sprouting, the trees are budding, and spring is HERE.)

Love to everyone from my big boys.

Mamma Mia!

With these ladies. A LOT of fun. And a yummy dinner. I tried several things I have never eaten before. We laughed a lot. And the musical was great.
Back to my mom job of feeding kids and doing laundry. :o)

Why do I do this?

I am trying to go to sleep early. Really tired. Gonna check my email and blogs before bed, then I start seeing all these amazing things and I want to make them all and I am not sleepy anymore (just tired) but wanting to go downstairs and start yet ANOTHER project when I have a MILLION that I haven't finished yet!!!! CRAZY!

But they are celebrating the month of the boy at a few blogs I read, and WOW some of the great stuff I can make for my boys and for gifts: peek-a-boo toy sacks, wallets, fort kits, snack/toy bandoliers...

And cute dresses for little girls that I want to make one for myself to go with...

And spoonflower.com fabric to look at!

After we took turns being sick all week I didn't get to sew much and now I am getting antsy to start working...

I will now be good and try and read a book to distract me. Hopefully the tired will take over.

Tomorrow is a big day... Dinner and Mamma Mia at the Orpheum with my friends!!! You may actually catch a picture of me with my hair all done up! (Too bad you don't get to see all my new cute summer shoes since it may be snowing or raining tomorrow night!

Sick Day. Sew Day.

Boys (all 3) are not feeling well. They watched a lot of movies and t.v. Mommy held them a lot. And I took a break to get my tote bag finished. Original design (experimenting with a log cabin pattern). Side A:Side B:
Handle detail:
Inside bag:
I also helped my friend Liz do some prep work - she is making 20 little fleece capes for her daughter's birthday party on Saturday! Now to do laundry and everything else that didn't get done today...