1. Couch to 5K. Yes, even though I hate running, I'm thankful that someone has come up with a way to make getting in shape a little more tolerable. I've just started week 3, and it's going pretty well.
2. Michael ate a banana! Just peeled it and took bites. He's never done that before. We talked about cutting it up into chunks instead of smashing it with a fork, and so he ate one banana that way. Then he decided he would try to eat one "like a monkey." He only took a few bites, but we're still proud of him. And he's agreed to eat more bananas like that.
3. Bountiful Baskets. I know I've mentioned this way too many times, but seriously, since we've been getting the baskets, we've been eating healthier and saving a lot of money.
4. That we're having a yard sale on May 1. I am SO ready to get rid of all this stuff stacked all over in my house. By the way, anyone who would like to come sell your stuff, we're starting at 8 am on May 1. Come over early to set your stuff up, and mark it with your last name and the price. And if you don't have stuff to sell, come buy mine! :-)
5. Flowers. Our grape hyacinths are blooming, the tulips are just about to, the lilies are growing, the periwinkle has flowered and is spreading, the lilacs are showing buds, and on and on. I love this time of year. I think April and May are my favorite months.
Thursday, April 22, 2010
The latest (completed, maybe) project
New curtains in what will become the girls' room. Right now, it's still our room, and Jeff is super excited to have girly curtains in it. Motivation to get the new bedroom in the basement finished, right?
I'm debating whether or not to add bows to the bottoms of the pink ribbon. What do you think? Do you think they would look better at the bottom or at the top?
Thanks for the fabric, Mom. I literally used every inch!
I'm debating whether or not to add bows to the bottoms of the pink ribbon. What do you think? Do you think they would look better at the bottom or at the top?Thanks for the fabric, Mom. I literally used every inch!
Monday, April 19, 2010
Why I Love My Ward/Neighborhood
I've been thinking a lot lately about how fortunate I am to live here. I just wanted to write down a few of the things I like most about living in this neighborhood and going to church in our ward.
1. Mr. Gabaldon - the man next door who likes to talk over the fence. He thought Mom was my sister, and he gave Michael finger puppets and a cute desk. Today he asked me if we had any Legos, because he has some he wants to get rid of.
2. April, Elissa, Hollie, Stacey, Brandy, Lisa, Maria, Rachel, Whitnie, Emily, MaryNell, Kazia, Shari, Lindsay, Kelly..... (there are a lot more - really).
3. The "young" Sunday School class.
4. That I get to go to the "young" Sunday School class instead of the "old" one, usually. If you were there in the "old" one last Sunday, I'm sure you understand.
5. Brother Clatterbuck - yesterday he randomly knocked on our door and asked if he could till our garden for us. He had been across the street tilling Una's, and on his way home figured he'd stop at our house, too.
6. A small-town feel. Really. This neighborhood and ward are largely made up of older, retired people, who have lived in their homes for decades. They all know each other, each other's families, etc. I really feel like the people here genuinely care about each other. Everyone is always out taking care of someone else.
7. No cliques. True, everyone kind of has their circle of friends. But everyone is still friends with everyone else. I've never felt any of that high school drama.
8. The other neighbors. Jeff and I are not terribly friendly. By that, I mean that we don't go over to our neighbors' homes and chat for no other reason than to visit. But I really like all of our neighbors here. We wave to each other, talk over the fence, bring each other small gifts at Christmas. It's pleasant.
9. Sister Clatterbuck. Every time someone in our ward or neighborhood dies, she goes around and takes up a collection for flowers. She's been doing it for at least the last five or six years. And with all the older folks around here, she does it a lot. But I love that she has taken it upon herself to perform that service.
I am so glad that our house didn't sell. Yes, it would be nice to have more space and a bigger yard. But I would have been so sad to leave my neighborhood. I feel really, really blessed to live here.
1. Mr. Gabaldon - the man next door who likes to talk over the fence. He thought Mom was my sister, and he gave Michael finger puppets and a cute desk. Today he asked me if we had any Legos, because he has some he wants to get rid of.
2. April, Elissa, Hollie, Stacey, Brandy, Lisa, Maria, Rachel, Whitnie, Emily, MaryNell, Kazia, Shari, Lindsay, Kelly..... (there are a lot more - really).
3. The "young" Sunday School class.
4. That I get to go to the "young" Sunday School class instead of the "old" one, usually. If you were there in the "old" one last Sunday, I'm sure you understand.
5. Brother Clatterbuck - yesterday he randomly knocked on our door and asked if he could till our garden for us. He had been across the street tilling Una's, and on his way home figured he'd stop at our house, too.
6. A small-town feel. Really. This neighborhood and ward are largely made up of older, retired people, who have lived in their homes for decades. They all know each other, each other's families, etc. I really feel like the people here genuinely care about each other. Everyone is always out taking care of someone else.
7. No cliques. True, everyone kind of has their circle of friends. But everyone is still friends with everyone else. I've never felt any of that high school drama.
8. The other neighbors. Jeff and I are not terribly friendly. By that, I mean that we don't go over to our neighbors' homes and chat for no other reason than to visit. But I really like all of our neighbors here. We wave to each other, talk over the fence, bring each other small gifts at Christmas. It's pleasant.
9. Sister Clatterbuck. Every time someone in our ward or neighborhood dies, she goes around and takes up a collection for flowers. She's been doing it for at least the last five or six years. And with all the older folks around here, she does it a lot. But I love that she has taken it upon herself to perform that service.
I am so glad that our house didn't sell. Yes, it would be nice to have more space and a bigger yard. But I would have been so sad to leave my neighborhood. I feel really, really blessed to live here.
Thursday, April 15, 2010
Catching Up
I feel like I have a million thing to write about. But whenever I sit down to write, I get overwhelmed by the amount of things to write about, so I shut the laptop and don't write anything. So this is a catch-up post, just to document a few things that have been going on.
We went to the zoo on April 10 with my family. It was a lot of fun, and the kids loved seeing all the animals and riding on the carousel. When we were finished there, my parents brought Michael and Faith back to our house and stayed with them overnight so that Jeff and I could go to Park City for our anniversary.
But we didn't really get into Park City. We ended up going to the Gateway and watching a movie (Date Night - hilarious, but definitely not for kids), then walking around the Clark Planetarium. That place is so cool. Then we drove up to Park City, but only got as far as Kimball Junction, where we ate at Loco Lizard. Seriously. Best fish tacos I've had in Utah. I will totally go back there.
We spent the night in Coalville, then had lunch at Taggart's Grill before heading up to Huntsville to my grandparents' house, where my parents met us with the kids. It was a very nice and much-needed break from ordinary life.
I've been searching for some time to find some new furniture for our living room. I hate (HATE) our couches, and I am SO ready to get rid of them. I'm going to bring the couch in our basement up to the upstairs living room, get rid of the couch and loveseat that is currently there, and get a couple of chairs to replace the loveseat. I've been looking for some chairs to recover. (I can't just buy chairs that will work as is, you know. I have to make this as difficult as possible.) Anyway, I had looked at several thrift stores and hadn't found anything that I really loved. But yesterday I went into the D.I. on a whim and found..... two matching chairs that are in great shape (structurally), super comfortable, and just the style I'm looking for. Yay!! And even better - $15 for the pair!! I also found a really comfortable chair to recover for the girls' room (when the basement is finished and the girls have a room of their own). I don't really like my rocker/glider anymore, so I will be selling that at our yard sale and replacing it with the one I bought yesterday. So now I have three very big projects sitting in my living room, because there isn't room for them in the basement. I went to JoAnn today and got fabric for the two matching chairs, but that cost enough money that I'm thinking the other one is going to stay 70s gold velour for a while.
And in other news, I am doing the couch to 5K running program. No, I am not planning to run a 5K. Yes, I still hate running. But I am determined to go through boot camp at my gym, which starts in May. But I don't think I have the endurance to make it through that program. So I'm getting in shape to get in shape. I'm on week 2 (of 9), and it's going fine so far. But seriously, somebody please tell me why running is so great. I have lost 4 pounds since I started, but I don't see myself ever running just because I enjoy it. And I'm pretty sure that the 4 pounds is as much from not eating so much junk - and eating lots more fruits and veggies - as it is from running. I do feel really, really good, though, so I'm happy about that.
That's about it for now. Hopefully I can keep up with things now and not feel quite so overwhelmed. I'll be sure to take before and after photos of my first upholstery projects.
We went to the zoo on April 10 with my family. It was a lot of fun, and the kids loved seeing all the animals and riding on the carousel. When we were finished there, my parents brought Michael and Faith back to our house and stayed with them overnight so that Jeff and I could go to Park City for our anniversary.
But we didn't really get into Park City. We ended up going to the Gateway and watching a movie (Date Night - hilarious, but definitely not for kids), then walking around the Clark Planetarium. That place is so cool. Then we drove up to Park City, but only got as far as Kimball Junction, where we ate at Loco Lizard. Seriously. Best fish tacos I've had in Utah. I will totally go back there.
We spent the night in Coalville, then had lunch at Taggart's Grill before heading up to Huntsville to my grandparents' house, where my parents met us with the kids. It was a very nice and much-needed break from ordinary life.
I've been searching for some time to find some new furniture for our living room. I hate (HATE) our couches, and I am SO ready to get rid of them. I'm going to bring the couch in our basement up to the upstairs living room, get rid of the couch and loveseat that is currently there, and get a couple of chairs to replace the loveseat. I've been looking for some chairs to recover. (I can't just buy chairs that will work as is, you know. I have to make this as difficult as possible.) Anyway, I had looked at several thrift stores and hadn't found anything that I really loved. But yesterday I went into the D.I. on a whim and found..... two matching chairs that are in great shape (structurally), super comfortable, and just the style I'm looking for. Yay!! And even better - $15 for the pair!! I also found a really comfortable chair to recover for the girls' room (when the basement is finished and the girls have a room of their own). I don't really like my rocker/glider anymore, so I will be selling that at our yard sale and replacing it with the one I bought yesterday. So now I have three very big projects sitting in my living room, because there isn't room for them in the basement. I went to JoAnn today and got fabric for the two matching chairs, but that cost enough money that I'm thinking the other one is going to stay 70s gold velour for a while.
And in other news, I am doing the couch to 5K running program. No, I am not planning to run a 5K. Yes, I still hate running. But I am determined to go through boot camp at my gym, which starts in May. But I don't think I have the endurance to make it through that program. So I'm getting in shape to get in shape. I'm on week 2 (of 9), and it's going fine so far. But seriously, somebody please tell me why running is so great. I have lost 4 pounds since I started, but I don't see myself ever running just because I enjoy it. And I'm pretty sure that the 4 pounds is as much from not eating so much junk - and eating lots more fruits and veggies - as it is from running. I do feel really, really good, though, so I'm happy about that.
That's about it for now. Hopefully I can keep up with things now and not feel quite so overwhelmed. I'll be sure to take before and after photos of my first upholstery projects.
Thankful Thursday
1. A husband who supports my whims (or tolerates them, really). Like replacing our living room furniture. And getting rid of the drapes and making our living room a fish bowl.
2. A husband who loves my quirks and thinks my dorky jokes are funny.
3. A husband who works really hard to support us, and even when he isn't working at his job, he does a lot of work at home to make it as close to a dream home as this place can be. Even though I'm going to make him paint a burnt-orange accent wall in the sewing room.
4. A husband who does the dishes sometimes, laundry sometimes, and most of the yard work all the time.
5. A husband who is also a great dad, and would rather play with his kids than pursue most other hobbies.
2. A husband who loves my quirks and thinks my dorky jokes are funny.
3. A husband who works really hard to support us, and even when he isn't working at his job, he does a lot of work at home to make it as close to a dream home as this place can be. Even though I'm going to make him paint a burnt-orange accent wall in the sewing room.
4. A husband who does the dishes sometimes, laundry sometimes, and most of the yard work all the time.
5. A husband who is also a great dad, and would rather play with his kids than pursue most other hobbies.
Monday, April 5, 2010
Busy weekend
The kids and I went to Gunnison over Easter weekend. This gave Jeff some kid-free time to work on the basement, and since Michael didn't have school (spring break), it was a good opportunity for us to see Burke and get started on some things to help Michael eat better.
We drove down to Gunnison on Thursday in time to attend the open house of Burke's new practice, Sanpete Family Wellness. He has a very nice little office in Centerfield (which is just south of Gunnison). I didn't get much sleep Thursday night, since Faith was sleeping with me, and Lauren ended up in the bed with us too. Faith hates to have anyone lay next to her, so every time she even half woke up, she'd see me and start to cry. And I think Lauren was cold that first night, because if she was in bed with me, she was fine. But as soon as I put her into her own bed, she'd cry. So yeah, not very restful.
On Friday I took Michael to his first appointment with Burke (Dr. Larsen). He did some allergy/food sensitivity testing, and we discovered that he is actually not sensitive to wheat and dairy, which I thought he was. He is sensitive to a number of other foods and chemicals, and he has a number of supplements to take and a long list of foods to avoid, but I'm not going into that on this blog. I am, however, going to document it all on my blog about Michael.
Friday night, Callie hosted a neighborhood Easter egg hunt at the church near her house. It was fun for the kids to get a ton of candy (which I recycled for the family egg hunt on Sunday). That night was awful. Michael got sick and threw up in his bed. We changed his clothes, rolled up the dirty bedding, washed his face, etc., and went back to bed, with a bucket. This time, he slept with me (and Faith) in my bed. Not fun. Now I had two wiggly kids, and I was getting a horrible headache from the smell. I finally went downstairs and slept on the couch until I heard Faith at about 6 am. When I went upstairs, I found that Michael had thrown up again (in the bucket, though). I was ready to go home, except my headache was so bad that I didn't think I could drive. And I really wanted Burke to see Michael again. Fortunately, Michael seemed to be feeling much better. I opted to not go to the city egg hunt, but instead stayed at Callie's house and gave the kids baths. My parents came over (they had stayed at Mandi and Burke's) and offered to take Faith home with them for the night. They were coming back on Sunday for Easter dinner, and could just bring her back with them. A night with no wiggly kids in my bed? I took them up on the offer. (Thank you, by the way. I'm not sure I told you that. But it was very nice to not have to worry about her for a while.)
But my hope for a night with no kids in my bed wasn't realized - Michael insisted on sleeping with me. Grrrrr. Oh well. At least he isn't as wiggly as Faith.
Michael saw Burke again on Saturday, this time for some emotional things (again, not on this blog) and an adjustment. We also watched General Conference, although to be honest, I have a hard time getting much out of it with so much going on. I need peace and quiet to listen and concentrate, and that just doesn't happen much anymore.
Sunday, we watched Conference again, and then people started arriving for dinner (between sessions). When my parents got there with Faith, she gave me a hug and said, "Fafie happy," which was so cute. Mom made darling dresses for all the granddaughters, and shorts for the boys.
Abby, Lauren, Faith, Averie, Keely
Matthew, Michael
Yeah, don't ask me what Michael is doing there, because I really don't know.
Between Conference sessions, we had a delicious dinner made by Callie, and then an egg hunt for the kids. It was especially fun to watch Faith get so excited about her yellow eggs (each kid was assigned a particular color of egg to find).
After cleaning up, packing up, getting the kids in the van, and a quick stop at Mandi and Burke's house, we headed home. It was a nice weekend, but as always, it was also really nice to come home.
We drove down to Gunnison on Thursday in time to attend the open house of Burke's new practice, Sanpete Family Wellness. He has a very nice little office in Centerfield (which is just south of Gunnison). I didn't get much sleep Thursday night, since Faith was sleeping with me, and Lauren ended up in the bed with us too. Faith hates to have anyone lay next to her, so every time she even half woke up, she'd see me and start to cry. And I think Lauren was cold that first night, because if she was in bed with me, she was fine. But as soon as I put her into her own bed, she'd cry. So yeah, not very restful.
On Friday I took Michael to his first appointment with Burke (Dr. Larsen). He did some allergy/food sensitivity testing, and we discovered that he is actually not sensitive to wheat and dairy, which I thought he was. He is sensitive to a number of other foods and chemicals, and he has a number of supplements to take and a long list of foods to avoid, but I'm not going into that on this blog. I am, however, going to document it all on my blog about Michael.
Friday night, Callie hosted a neighborhood Easter egg hunt at the church near her house. It was fun for the kids to get a ton of candy (which I recycled for the family egg hunt on Sunday). That night was awful. Michael got sick and threw up in his bed. We changed his clothes, rolled up the dirty bedding, washed his face, etc., and went back to bed, with a bucket. This time, he slept with me (and Faith) in my bed. Not fun. Now I had two wiggly kids, and I was getting a horrible headache from the smell. I finally went downstairs and slept on the couch until I heard Faith at about 6 am. When I went upstairs, I found that Michael had thrown up again (in the bucket, though). I was ready to go home, except my headache was so bad that I didn't think I could drive. And I really wanted Burke to see Michael again. Fortunately, Michael seemed to be feeling much better. I opted to not go to the city egg hunt, but instead stayed at Callie's house and gave the kids baths. My parents came over (they had stayed at Mandi and Burke's) and offered to take Faith home with them for the night. They were coming back on Sunday for Easter dinner, and could just bring her back with them. A night with no wiggly kids in my bed? I took them up on the offer. (Thank you, by the way. I'm not sure I told you that. But it was very nice to not have to worry about her for a while.)
But my hope for a night with no kids in my bed wasn't realized - Michael insisted on sleeping with me. Grrrrr. Oh well. At least he isn't as wiggly as Faith.
Michael saw Burke again on Saturday, this time for some emotional things (again, not on this blog) and an adjustment. We also watched General Conference, although to be honest, I have a hard time getting much out of it with so much going on. I need peace and quiet to listen and concentrate, and that just doesn't happen much anymore.
Sunday, we watched Conference again, and then people started arriving for dinner (between sessions). When my parents got there with Faith, she gave me a hug and said, "Fafie happy," which was so cute. Mom made darling dresses for all the granddaughters, and shorts for the boys.
Abby, Lauren, Faith, Averie, Keely
Matthew, MichaelYeah, don't ask me what Michael is doing there, because I really don't know.
Between Conference sessions, we had a delicious dinner made by Callie, and then an egg hunt for the kids. It was especially fun to watch Faith get so excited about her yellow eggs (each kid was assigned a particular color of egg to find).
After cleaning up, packing up, getting the kids in the van, and a quick stop at Mandi and Burke's house, we headed home. It was a nice weekend, but as always, it was also really nice to come home.
See a resemblance?
Okay, so maybe these aren't the BEST photos to show it, but I'm thinking Faith looks a lot like I did when I was little.
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