A bunny and a pig

We used to have a hand-me-down coat for Brianna that was white with tiny pink flowers on the lining and a little bunny sewn into the front pocket. She loved it. I wished she would wear her beautiful Baby Zara pink pea coat but she preferred the bunny coat. She used to walk around holding onto that little bunny head even inside he house. Even when she was much too big she still wanted to wear it so I gave it away hoping she would stop asking for it and so I wouldn't have to take a three year old out in a 18 month coat.

It didn't work. She still asks to wear the bunny coat and I don't even remember to whom I gave it.

This year I'm making the kids robes from snuggle fabric in their favorite colors (I might have fuzz permanently stuck up my nose, but that's another story). For Brianna's robe I scoured the stores for a tiny bunny before settling on a little pink pig for the pocket. I attached it to the robe with a ribbon. I couldn't bring myself to cut off the head and sew it into the pocket like the bunny. If I were a kid I think I would be frustrated at not being able to take it out and play with it. Do you think she'll like it? I still wish I had a bunny and I wish I had kept that coat to give her when she has a daughter of her own.

Growing up

It seems funny and awkward to cover so much time lapsed. I haven't posted hardly at all over the past year.  First because I wanted to put up some pics and didn't have the right memory stick or cord or whatever, second because if I skipped the picture posts, then they would all be out of order.  Oh well.  Something is better than nothing.

Carter is in 3rd grade.  I remember the girl I was in third grade.  Trying to master those cursive G's, getting glasses, reading James and the Giant Peach.  Carter is reading Captain Underpants, Guardians of Ga'Hool and Charlotte's Web.  He grew interested in cursive a year ago, probably because Charlie and I both write in cursive, and probably because Charlie writes in cursive to keep things secret from the Chinese in his meetings--very 007.  Carter plays with Legos endlessly and loves Ninjago and StarWars.

Will is in Kindergarten in the afternoons.  In Kindergarten I played with Katie in the backyard I she taught me all the songs she learned in school (We're Coming to America-Neil Diamond and God Bless the USA-Lee Greenwood, must have been a patriotic year). I adored her and wanted to do everything she did. Even in first grade our curriculum covered learning the alphabet and writing our names.  Will, already 6, can write his name, do basic arithmetic, and read short stories.  He plays with Brianna in the mornings and usually they have a wonderful time together.  I'll be sad next year when he is in school all day and Brianna has half a day alone.  Will has been especially tender and cuddly lately and I am loving it.  He often tells me I am beautiful.  I never knew it would feel so wonderful to have my child think I look beautiful.

Brianna is in preschool as a peer model in the early intervention preschool for our district.  She goes Monday through Thursday for three hours.  I love picking her and our neighbor, Jeffery, up from preschool.  Their little chatter and giggles to each other and excitedly telling me about preschool is one of my favorite parts of the day.  Brianna tries to sing the songs she learns but doesn't always remember the words.  Usually its more like a teaser trailer.  Something like 5 little pumpkins and Albuquerque Turkey and Wiggle my Fingers.

My little family is growing up and it makes me both sad and excited.  I try to remember to take time to play while they still want me to and let the chores wait.

When teaching the kids about tithing Carter said to William, "We show we are grateful because God gave us our spirits and Mom gave us our bodies."

Later he told us he knew how to use The Force.  I asked how and he said "I trust my feelings."

Emerald State Heat

After a week of 90+ temperatures in a city where 25% of the homes have AC we have finally given the little window coolers a break.  You can almost see them sagging under stress and chanting 'I think I can I think I can.'

We spent every day with a heat strategy plan.  Mud mountain dam followed by Lake Wilderness and absolutely no dishwasher or dryer use.  Running through sprinklers and playing in the backyard pool and TV in front of the cooler.  Popsicles in the morning and Alki Beach for lunch (the car has AC when you get stuck in traffic). Sprinkler park and picnic in the shade topped with more backyard pool and slushies at the Vreekens.

We had hardly any laundry since we spent the day in our swimming suits but what we did wash we dried on the line. At night we showered in cool water and dried (exfoliated) with stiff line-dried towels and drifted off to sleep with the drone of box fans in the windows and the heavy smell of line-dried sheets filling our noses.

Finally at the end of the week Will said to me, "I'm tired of my swimming suit!" and when we got ready for church the next day we were actually grateful for the familiar clouds overhead and the mist settling in on the lawn and frizzing our hair.

Maybe we belong in the Emerald State after all.

A few of my favorite things

Things I love:

pipe bands, watching smoke curl in the air, music, dance aerobics, gardening, weeding, trying new recipes, mountain biking, chocolate, sheets dried on the line, the smell of tomato plants, raspberries, laughter, husky voices, green, temples, children, home improvement, family scripture study, cousins, mountains, reading, classic literature, camping, sunshine, girls' night, family reunions, garden parties, sleeping in, cursive, human anatomy, legos, fine dining, Kate Middleton's dresses, hats, geometric patterns, the Olympics, ornate architecture, old growth forests, hiking, genealogy, sandwiches, globes, sea glass, radiology, Christ, vinegar, olives, brownies, fresh bread, peaches, pesticides, playing in the snow, laying on the beach, Brianna calling cribs 'ni-nights', trees, old buildings, leaded glass windows, Blue Bell Homestyle Vanilla, smelling my kids' hair, watching my kids sleep, crafts, sewing, correcting people when they say corn is a vegetable.

January

Just catching up.

A few crazy pics of the kids.

Carter getting his bobcat badge, coincidentally on our 10th anniversary.  Yup we went to pack meeting for our anniversary.

We pin the bobcat badge upside down.  The scout has to do a good deed before it can be turned right side up.  Its called a good turn or something.  Did I mention I'm Carter's new Den Leader?  I have the (tailored) shirt to prove it.  I look quite smashing.  Love a lady in a uniform.

My poor birthday birches bent clear over in the ice storm.  Luckily they are tender enough to bend instead of snap in half.

My clothesline I forgot to put away.  You can imagine what the power lines looked like.  

 When the branches droop instead of stick straight out in their Dr. Seuss fashion they tend to snap the already coated power lines.  Our power was out for only 36 hours, but some neighborhoods lost power for 6 days.

A half inch of ice on a blade of grass.

Apple tree

We lost 3 branches on our pine.

 Brianna still loves her spoons.  She hasn't dressed them up recently but they still  occupy family roles.

Add caption

Hiking on the trail near our house.  Yes we do enable Brianna's avoidance of expending physical energy.  I know I'll have to put a stop to the babying eventually but right now its easier.

Headboard

Regular updates to the blog really are a little out of my realm of possibility as evidenced by one blog post so far this year.  Maybe I can figure out something tricky to post pics in chronological order so that y'all think its January (when I made the headboard) and not the last day of our measly rainy June.

So here is how my process for the headboard:

First I popped my quilt batting in the dryer with a couple of tennis balls to fluff it up.  It was pretty compacted from the bag.  

Proceed with power tools.

Charlie helped me make chalk lines and then I drilled holes for the upholstering.

Swoop an angle at the edges.

I used a piece of particle board I already had but it was a couple inches shorter than I wanted, so I just spaced my 1x4s out a bit to make up the difference. 

Wrapped the 1x4 with batting and fabric with staples on the backside.

Present wrapped the ends.

Spray particle board with adhesive and add foam.  I used 2 inch foam and it is unnecessarily thick.  Considering the foam was 2/3rds of my cost I should have gotten something a lot thinner. I added my quilt batting and fabric.  The batting helped smooth out the edges of the foam and board.

I stuffed the extra fabric and stapled the easy parts.  I put a couple of stitches in the parts that needed smoothing.  Not pretty at all, but its below the mattress so its not visible.

On to the upholstering.

Kinda wish I had used buttons.  Really thought the fabric would pull in harlequin pattern so I was disappointed.  Oh well.

Finished!  I love the fabric with the embroidery on the bedding. Now I really need to paint that wall.  Any suggestions?

Not a typical day, but a type.

This morning really went well, just half an hour of chaos.  Here's what happened:

We're all ready to go to playgroup; just need to put on shoes.  I leave the room to put on my shoes and Will and Brianna go downstairs to find their shoes.  In the matter the couple minutes it took to put on my shoes Brianna and Will started to play their new game where they open the freezer and feed ice through the chute to each other and eat it.  They call it the trick-or-treat game.  Only the cold on her hands makes Brianna pee her pants.  Then she takes off her pants and somehow Will falls off a stool and blames Brianna for it which leads to yelling and crying and a girl standing naked in a pile of kitchen towels wet with pee.  I try to help Brianna into some new clothes but she hates everything I try to put on her and she screams and kicks furiously.  I try to come her hair instead.  Then I start to feel sick.  I took some vitamins half an hour earlier and my green smoothie wasn't hefty enough to compensate.  I leave Brianna since I'm just making things worse, run downstairs and start puking in the sink.  William gets upset, Brianna picks out some clothes (green shirt, pink and peach striped stretchy pants topped with a lavender skirt, blue shoes, and no socks), I feel better and we take Brianna to the Vreeken's for playgroup a half an hour late.

Thats the type of chaos that happens at our house.

Seals

Carter to Will:  I'm a Navy Seal.  Navy Seals fight in air and on land.  No wait--in water and on land because seals are in water.  Navy Seals use weapons but I think seals just hit each other.


Yesterday when we were talking about co-pilots William thought I was saying coat-pilots and Carter corrected him and said “It’s not ‘coat-pilots’ its code-pilots.” 

And the little child shall lead them

Before leaving for work on Friday, Charlie picked up our oldest child for a giant bear hug and a tickle or two when the teasing started.  We had plans to go to iFly later in the day with some friends and Carter was jealous having been flying with Uncle Brett a couple of times already.  Charlie joking, said "Well, should we all go skydiving instead?"  From the kitchen table I dictated Carter's exit strategy "President Hinkley asked us not to do those kinds of things."  Charlie persisted quite irreverently,"Yeah but he's dead."  Carter countered, "Just because a prophet is dead doesn't mean they're not important. Jesus has been dead a long time but we still have to do what he says." Charlie, quite flabbergasted, just said " I've got nothin'" chuckled, and left for work.

Wash-ing-ton

William likes to know which town we are in when we run around so today after discussing the towns we passed through he informed me all about the name of our state and city.

"Washington is because there is a ton and a lot of rain that washes so its Wash-ing-ton.  And Maple Valley because Maple is like in nature and there is a lot of nature and its a Valley."

I didn't tell him the historical facts.  Washington is named after George Washington who never set foot in this part of the world and a long time ago two logging brothers drew the name of our town out of a hat.  The post office later declared that Vine Maple Valley was too long so they shortened it to Maple Valley.