A Novice...

I'm what you would call a novice when it comes to sewing. I can sew on a button. I sewed ribbons on Sam's burp cloths, so I can sew a straight line, although the pedal action on the sewing machine probably seemed like I was in driver's ed. My greatest sewing exposure came in my 7th grade home ec class. The teacher was Mrs. Furr. However, to her, she was Mrs. Furry-wurry and everything was cutesy-ootsy and she was enough to drive this 12 year old to a deep dislike for sewing. Over the years, especially the past few, I've decided maybe it wasn't sewing I disliked, just Mrs. Furr. Come on, how useful was my mandatory locker organizer project (although may I add that to give it a little flair, my friend Lauren Cavanaugh and I traded our pockets so mine was white with black pockets and hers was black with white pockets- so forward thinking and trend-setting at such a tender age). In one of my many storage closets (one of my favorite features of my house) sits my mom's archaic sewing machine. It actually used to belong to my grandma, but after my parents got divorced, my mom left if for my dad, and he gave it to me. The thing probably weighs 50 pounds easily, so I don't get it out much. Neither did my mom. We'd sit around and eat popcorn like we were at a show when the sewing machine came out. I'm not really sure about the mechanics of how it operates, so I'd need a crash course from my mom. But back to me. I've snooped other blogs enough to see some things encouraging me to sew. I'll list my reasons.
1. There are some adorable online fabric stores, and you know I can't resist online shopping, or really any shopping for that matter.
2. I've seen some projects that have made me think, hey, maybe I could do that. I may be reduced to tears before I find out maybe not, but it could be fun to learn a new skill.
3. Isn't sewing an essential part to self-reliance, a mandatory skill for a good LDS woman? Maybe I could fit in more with the average age group of 60-somethings in my ward if I was a sewer.
4. It's July, and I've already had the desire to start some Christmas shopping, but if I want to be really thoughtful/creative/inspiring this year in my gift-giving and I start now, then maybe I could MAKE presents. Ambitious, I know, especially for a beginner.

So, what do you think. Is it doable? I'm thinking I want to make purses for my mom, MIL, and SIL. Maybe I could scale it down and make one for Addie. Math I can do, so how hard could that be? But I think I may need a new sewing machine. I can't imagine pulling out the relic every time I miraculously get both kiddos to nap for the same window of time and have a few minutes to live it, I mean sew it up. Help me you crafty souls. I feel nervous. I feel frightened. I feel a glimmer of hope. Sewing: Mission Impossible?

Monday, Monday...NOT so good to me...

Today was quite the challenging day. Let me just say, having a 2 year old is quite an...adventure. Addie and I have had some struggles lately in the obedience/kindness department, but over the last month things had really improved. Then I voiced that out loud to Patrick, and of course, I was cursed again. Today she accomplished the following: broke her bed-rail guards which keep her from falling out, and fell out in the process of breaking them, bit me, threw her toys, cried for probably at least an hour if you add it all up, and successfully wore me out. Ah, the joys of having a toddler. Before you think she's a demon child, let me clarify that she really can be a gem. She can be so tender, so obedient, so happy and clever, and quite a joy. Today was just not one of those days. We did have a few bright spots. After a totally terrible morning, I needed to make it to Costco, so I braved it there hoping to turn her behavior around because she is in LOVE with Costco. She calls the refrigerated section the "coldy place" and begs to go there. So we did a quick trip through the coldy place, picked up other needed items, and even enjoyed a quick lunch consisting of a hot dog and ice cream. And she was perfectly well behaved while we were out. The meltdown began again at nap time. It took over an hour before she finally gave in to the exhaustion (it was during this hour that she broke her bed rails). Tonight after Pat got home, she brightened up again. We did yard work for FHE and she rode on the lawnmower with Pat, helped me pull weeds, wandered around, talked to the horses that live behind our yard, and enjoyed being outside. The powers of distraction are strong, why can't I remember that when in the heat of the moment?
Let me make a quick list of things I love about Addie:
1. Her curly hair. I've never known the joys of this on my own hair, so I quite enjoy it with hers.
2. Hearing her pray. She's in that wonderful grateful for everything stage, so when we can convince her to pray, it's so fulfilling.
3. Her tastes in food (most of the time). She's been begging daily for pork tacos lately. We had them last week, but I don't blame her. I want them everyday too. Maybe I'll make them again this week. I love me some pork tacos.... oh yeah, back to Addie...
4. Her speaking abilities. She's so funny as she's learned to talk more. Some of my favorite things she says include "Push it out, Sam". You can guess what Sam is doing when she says that. "I love you very much" with emphasis on the very much. "I miss you" even when I'm sitting right next to her. "Tickle me again." She's getting so excited to go to school someday, so she talks about it all the time, and recently she said at school she'd go to sleep. When I told her you don't usually go to sleep at school, she said "Mom, tell me the truth about school." Where does she come up with this stuff? She also asks all the time "Ok, mama?" to check on my well-being. The list could go on...
5. Her musicality. Since a young age, she's been singing. Her pitch is amazing, and she's been able to carry a tune remarkably well. Before she could talk, I'd ask her to sing me what song she wanted me to sing, and she'd hum it and I could instantly tell what she wanted. These days it's hilarious to hear her sing along to the musicals she's loving. Hearing her sing "I am 16 going on 17" or "The best things happen while you're dancing" or "Just a spoonful of sugar" brings joy to my heart. She'll also sit down at the piano to play and she can often find an octave. Honestly, the prodigy I'm raising ;)
So yes, I do love my daughter "very much" as she would say, and I'm glad I just took time to remind myself.
Tomorrow we're having the Enrichment book club group at my house. Holy hannah, why did I volunteer for that one. That means tomorrow will be a grumpy day involving me frantically cleaning my house in between changing diapers, feeding my kids, and taking care of other mom jobs. I'll let you know how it goes. So see you back here tomorrow, same bat time, same bat channel.

Fizzled Out

That's what happened to my weekend. After our big anniversary celebration Friday, the weekend definitely fizzled out. Sam woke up around 6:30 yesterday and decided he didn't want to go back to sleep, so I had an early start to the day after a late night. This body doesn't do well with only 5 hours of sleep, but I decided to try to get some energy and make up for the extreme overeating I've done over the last 2 weeks, so I went on a walk. It wasn't very long, but I did start to feel a little winded by the end. There is a lot of building going around by us, so I was hoping to do some self-guided tours of the newly framed houses, but unluckily for me, there were crews there working away on a Saturday! We kind of had a lazy Saturday morning after my walk, but I was hoping we would try to get some yard work done and make my IKEA trip when Patrick asked if it would be ok for him to attend a LAN party. Knowing that I'd had a few times out with SIL and other girlies lately, I reluctantly agreed. I was actually grateful to get a good afternoon nap with the kids, but after that I was hoping he'd be home in time to make my IKEA dreams come true. Alas, they will have to wait for another day.
We ended up going over to see his parents last night. Considering his dad had brain surgery Monday, he's looking really good. My hairdresser (can I even say that, it sounds so dated! maybe hair stylist...hair doer...hair goddess?) Jenny came over and evened out his half shaved head, and he looked a lot better. Let me say, you can't hold the man back. He mowed the lawn yesterday. It drives me nuts that MIL doesn't place more restrictions, but my advice doesn't seem to matter. She's dragging him to Moab next Monday because some of her family's coming to town, and they had already planned the trip before the whole surgery thing happened. I could go on and on, but I'll spare you the details. Anyway, he's doing well, and Addie told him his "owie is so silly". I think he got a kick out of that.
Today was the dreaded young women reporting back on girl's camp sacrament meeting. I have to say, I usually despise this meeting. It's fraught with irreverence, inside jokes, travelogues, and giggling. But today, the young women in our ward proved me wrong. They were assigned to speak on spiritual experiences they had at girl's camp, and they did a great job! There were only a few vague references to camp jokes, and it was mostly girls bearing testimony about their love of nature, how awesome it is to have their testimonies grow, things they learned while studying their scriptures, it was really quite impressive, all things considered.
Tonight my mom and step-dad came over for a little while to see the grandkids. I was actually wishing they'd come a different day, because Addie was being a beast. We had a knock-down-drag-out fight over eating dinner (I can't blame her for not wanting to eat it, it wasn't my best work and I frankly didn't want to eat it, but sometimes we have to eat things we don't like...I'm such a mean mom!) that involved 3 trips to her bedroom for time-outs. Pat and I also have differing styles when it comes to situations like this, so it ends up being rather unpleasant at our house. He tends to be the champion of justice, while I try to remind him that she's 2 and maybe calls for a little mercy. It's a hard balancing act. Sam went to bed while they were here and has woken up no less than 5 times since. I think he's gassy or something, but he's a wreck. Hopefully he'll stay asleep through the night, because I definitely need the rest.
So there you have it. My highly uneventful, nothing-to-write-home-about (so maybe I shouldn't have even blogged about it) weekend. I sure hope my life perks up soon, or I'll lose the small readership I'm working to gain :) Here's to a new, feeling good, full of fun week!

A Belated...

Happy Anniversary to me! Yesterday we celebrated 5 years, and it was a nice day. We packed a picnic and took the kids to the park in the afternoon. Addie used to be so ADD there and just run from one thing to the next, but she actually lingered long enough to swing for a while, and did some good trips down the slide. We take turns planning our anniversary every other year (on the year we don't plan the anniversary, we plan valentine's day), so this year was my year. I struggled thinking we had to have some huge action-packed milestone date, but finally realized I didn't care what we did, I was just happy to be spending time together. We ended up going to the Market Street Grill. It was ok, but for me, it was one of those meals that I could've made myself and wondered what I was doing paying $23 for it in a restaurant. But we had great conversation and really enjoyed being together. After that, we went miniature golfing which turned out to be quite fun. I got a hole in one! Watch out Tiger Woods, as long as I pick the course, I'll take you down! Actually, I lost to Patrick by 2 strokes, but a hole in 1 makes me the automatic winner, right? We stopped for some dessert on the way home, and by the time we got back to pick up the kids from sleeping at their cousin's (we have this wonderful trading system where we watch niece and nephew one Friday, and our kids go over to be with aunt and uncle the next Friday- it's magic!), they were breaking out the Sega. I had serious Nintendo hankerings after that. Can I just say for the record that the best "vintage" game known to man (can I say vintage when it's less than 20 years ago?) is Donkey Kong for the Super Nintendo. I think I may need to find this system and game on Ebay so I can satisfy my craving for the MineShaft level. As an older sister to 2 brothers, video games is just a requirement, and I did my best to fill the obligation. Anyway, we played Sega for a while with BIL and SIL and had a great time. Happy 5 years to us!

I'm not sure what today will hold for us. I'd like to do some yard work, but I think it's supposed to be so blazing hot. Our yard leaves a lot to be desired. We built our house and moved in 2 years ago this fall. Last summer we focused on sprinkler system and sod, and we had a retaining wall put in that gave us more yard as well as some beds. Our front landscaping is ok, but the sides and back need weed cloth laid, bushes, flowers, bark, and really a plan. These kinds of projects can be fun to me if I have the time, but with 2 kids underfoot, they leave me wishing I'd hired someone. But, no gardener in sight for me, so I'd better break out the landscaping websites and try to catch a vision. I'm also hoping to go to IKEA today. Yes, we're one of the few Utards who still hasn't gone. I wanted to avoid the rush in the beginning, and then I kind of forgot about it. But I'm sure by now, the rush is over, and it's time to go eat meatballs and peruse the cheap housewares.

Before signing off, a quick thanks to my new blogging friends. My friend banner on the side is slowly growing, so please feel free to add me and let me add you too so I don't look like such a lame-o blogger. Have a great Saturday. It is a special day, you know...

I Feel Munchy...

And I really shouldn't, but I always get this way in the afternoon. I went to lunch with some of my college friends for Angie's birthday. Can I just say how hard it is sometimes to take 2 kids out by myself? Addie was actually an angel, just extremely shy (almost to the point of unfriendly, but when you have 5 people trying to talk to you at once, it's natural to glare, right?), but eating wasn't a battle. After an hour, she informed me it was time to go home, though, so every minute after that felt like an hour. Sam is in that awkward stage when having him in his carrier is quite the workout, but without having somewhere to put him, it's almost worse. I've been thinking about getting some sort of a sling or carrier, but since I haven't used it from the start to get used to the weight, I think 17 pounds all at once may be a little overwhelming. My biggest problem with him is that he's so tall! He's grown 1 1/4 inches a month since birth, so probably by mid-August, he'll be exactly half my height. How am I supposed to carry a baby half as big as I am?
So back to my munchies- I finished my ice cream last night. I have no more Otis cookie dough balls in the freezer, so a Costco trip is in order soon. I could resort to chocolate chips, but that's always kind of scraping the bottom of the barrel for me. And I'm not sure what's for dinner because I'm eating dinner at Enrichment. I think maybe I'll make some pancakes or something easy like that before I leave. I have no desire to make nice meals for my family when I won't be there to eat it. I know, so selfish. Oh, and about my spaghetti last night. After I dished up and was so excited, I looked at my plate and saw these little things sticking out of my sauce, and realized they were the legs of a mosquito that met it's demise on my plate drowning in meat and marinara. I didn't want much to eat after that...
I'll report back on Enrichment. It should be a fun one, although it's supposed to be outdoors and it's been sprinkling on and off, so we'll have to see how it pans out. I have a feeling, it may be at the church instead.

The Beginnings of a Blog...

After a few months of contemplating, I've decided it's time to begin a blog. Shall it be for posterity's sake? I'm not sure yet, but at least for me, and for friends and family, and perhaps for posterity if it turns out to be much good. My journals certainly haven't turned out to be for posterity. They're full of trivial things like entries when I was 12 that stated how in love I was with the boys in my Sunday School class. These days, I write in them when I'm really upset, and no one needs to read those terrible blubberings. So I'll start anew, and hopefully this will turn into something worth reading. Cheers to a new blog! Hopefully it will get prettier as I figure out more of this blogging nonsense. In the mean time, I need to go make some dinner for my family. Tonight, it's spaghetti. Delish! And that's how I feel about that!