Haven't seen one of these in a while, huh?
1. Modern conveniences. I'm really thankful that I can put dirty clothes in my washer, move the clean wet clothes to a dryer, and then just have to fold them and put them away. And I love that I can put my dishes in a dishwasher, push a button and go do something fun while the machine does the work. I sometimes wonder how people ever had time to have ANY fun before these things were around.
2. Hot water in my house. Okay, so maybe this is sort of like #1, but indoor plumbing isn't as modern a convenience as the dishwasher (I don't think). While I was on my mission, I saw a lot of women and children carrying 5-gallon buckets of water on their heads from far away. They had to carefully conserve it to bathe, cook, wash dishes, etc. And it wasn't hot. So every once in a while when I turn on my hot water to rinse my hands off, or fill a pan with water, or wash Lauren's face, I just feel a little bit of gratitude for being able to do that without worrying about it.
3. Good-natured kids. Seriously. My kids have their moments, but overall, they are pretty darn well behaved.
4. Some extra hours at work, and opportunities to make some extra money on the side. Yeah, have to support my recent Pampered Chef addiction somehow.
5. The chance to try new things. In the past couple of weeks I've tried sushi, zumba, jicama, and yoga. Some experiences were better than others.
6. Jeff. I'm pretty lucky to have a husband who is so supportive of me. He encourages me to develop my talents. He tells me I'm beautiful. He lights up when he sees me, and I love it.
Friday, August 5, 2011
Thursday, July 28, 2011
Before and After
I *finally* got around to reupholstering my thrift store chairs. It was so intimidating to me that the fabric sat in the corner for about a year before I took the plunge. And you know what? It wasn't so bad. I did the green one first.
Before:
After:
I chose to do this one first because I thought it would be harder. It was actually pretty easy, and I felt really encouraged when I went to start the second one. But the second one took FOREVER!!! Mostly it just took forever to get all the staples out. Like, twice as long as it took to do the whole first chair. Huge thanks to Jeff for taking pity on me and spending so much time yanking them out. If I had done this one first, I would have never done the second one at all. In fact, I would have chucked both chairs and all the fabric in the trash, and went and spent a whole lot of money on chairs that I liked just as they were.
Before:
Notice the blue dry erase marker all over the seat - compliments of Faith.
After:
After all that, I am really happy with how they turned out. Reupholstering doesn't intimidate me anymore. Not that I'll be doing my couch anytime soon.....
Before:
After:
I chose to do this one first because I thought it would be harder. It was actually pretty easy, and I felt really encouraged when I went to start the second one. But the second one took FOREVER!!! Mostly it just took forever to get all the staples out. Like, twice as long as it took to do the whole first chair. Huge thanks to Jeff for taking pity on me and spending so much time yanking them out. If I had done this one first, I would have never done the second one at all. In fact, I would have chucked both chairs and all the fabric in the trash, and went and spent a whole lot of money on chairs that I liked just as they were.Before:
Notice the blue dry erase marker all over the seat - compliments of Faith.
After:
After all that, I am really happy with how they turned out. Reupholstering doesn't intimidate me anymore. Not that I'll be doing my couch anytime soon.....
Slippin' and Slidin'
Whoa, I am behind. I finally uploaded photos from my camera today, and decided to try to catch up a little.
I have some funny video of the kids going down the slip and slide, but for some reason, I can't upload them. So a photo of Faith will have to suffice.
I have some funny video of the kids going down the slip and slide, but for some reason, I can't upload them. So a photo of Faith will have to suffice.
Friday, June 24, 2011
T-ball
Lots of posts about Michael today. We signed him up for T-ball this summer, and his team was the Pirates. The first three games were rained out, so it was kind of a short season. He told me a few days before the first game that he didn't want to play. I asked him why, and he just kept saying, "I just don't want to," and, "I don't want to play any sports." Finally, he said, "I just don't want to be out." So after I assured him that you don't get out in T-ball, he seemed somewhat excited for his first game.
Which I missed. I felt so bad. I had a staff meeting at work, and it went a lot longer than I had anticipated. But Jeff took photos, and I talked to Michael about it afterward. His face lit up when he told me he had hit the ball three times, and he had run so fast. But when I said, "So did you have fun?" he lowered his eyes and put on a sort of pouty voice to say, "Not really." Whatever. He had just decided he wasn't going to like it, so no matter how much he really did, he couldn't admit it. Stubborn little terd.
Which I missed. I felt so bad. I had a staff meeting at work, and it went a lot longer than I had anticipated. But Jeff took photos, and I talked to Michael about it afterward. His face lit up when he told me he had hit the ball three times, and he had run so fast. But when I said, "So did you have fun?" he lowered his eyes and put on a sort of pouty voice to say, "Not really." Whatever. He had just decided he wasn't going to like it, so no matter how much he really did, he couldn't admit it. Stubborn little terd.
Kindergarten Graduation
Michael's Kindergarten graduation was on May 24. It was fun to see how much all these kids have progressed this year. They had a great teacher, Mrs. Thayne. I'm sad that she can't just stay with Michael for the rest of his schooling. She did so well with him and he just loved her.
This is his class. He is on the top row on the very right.
Receiving his diploma. (Actually, going to sit down after receiving it. The camera batteries were dying and we didn't get a very good picture.)
Family photo after the shindig. Notice how happy the kids were to be there.
This is his class. He is on the top row on the very right.
Receiving his diploma. (Actually, going to sit down after receiving it. The camera batteries were dying and we didn't get a very good picture.)
Family photo after the shindig. Notice how happy the kids were to be there.
Kindy 500
Every year Michael's school does a Kindy 500 for all the kindergarten students. This was over a month ago (yes, I'm that far behind.... again). Anyway, each student made a car or other vehicle out of a box, and then they paraded from place to place in the school and had different activities at each stop. It was really fun to see what all the kids (um, parents) came up with. Here's Michael in his jeep, talking to his friend Sam.
Michael was really excited to have a jeep. Jeff overheard him telling Faith, "You know why I wanted a Jeep? It's because when we're in Delta, Grandpa Hansen sometimes wakes me up really early and we go for a ride in his Jeep just to be together." Sweet, huh?
I loved this VW bug.
I think this girl raided her dress-up box.
My favorite was probably this motorcycle.
But the rocket was pretty cool too.
Michael was really excited to have a jeep. Jeff overheard him telling Faith, "You know why I wanted a Jeep? It's because when we're in Delta, Grandpa Hansen sometimes wakes me up really early and we go for a ride in his Jeep just to be together." Sweet, huh?I loved this VW bug.
I think this girl raided her dress-up box.
My favorite was probably this motorcycle.
But the rocket was pretty cool too.
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