She's Crafty...

No -- I'm not talking about the Beastie Boys song. Although that song does take me back to my junior year of high school...those were the days..."you've got to fight, for the right to party"...anyway...

The other night I felt the need to craft and so a few of my gal pals came over and we hung out & made these cute graphic t-shirts for our kids. They were so easy and so fun and I have a million ideas swimming around in my head of what to "print" on the next t-shirt. The possibilities are endless!


We got the idea here. But we didn't use the paint she suggested instead we used the good ol' fabric paint from the craft store that doesn't have to be heat set. Shauna found a lot of great images online. We traced them, cut them out, ironed on the freezer paper and viola a cute "t".

Look at those faces! What goofy kids!

Arrrrg matey!

Sorry Brenda -- I know your eyes are closed but I had to show this cute shirt. I love this stencil!


And finally here is Britney crafting something of her very own...she IS crafty!

We are making some progress

Here are some of the before pictures -- don't you just love the light and all the matching light bulbs it has? I did feel like a movie star.

It is slow going and we have had a few (ha) glitches but as you can see we are making some progress. I love the new big sink and dark brown vanity. We just need to finish up some plumbing -- about half of it is done. And put up the rest of the bead board on the other side of the bathroom then I can start doing the fun part...decorating!

I had to include a picture of the floor - what a mess!

Easily Distracted

Last week the sun was out and I was motivated to get some things done. I cleaned out my linen closet and organized it -- which meant throwing a lot of old sheets & towels away. Whoo hooo! It felt so good and I found myself randomly opening the door to admire my handiwork. I also cleaned the guest/sewing room (aka "green room") and the kids and I really scrubbed down the living room -- including window sills, dusting and editing video games and DVD's. Things were starting to look good around here.

and

then

it

got

cold

again...

sigh...

sigh - a little louder...

So today as I look up at the snow on the mountain I am finding lots of things to do besides what I am suppose to be doing. Do you ever have days like that where you just can't seem to make yourself get up and go?

I find that making a list helps me stay focused or at least it is a gentle reminder that there are things that need to be done beside catching up with my DVR or reading random blogs or even quilting. Today only feel like doing little tasks or even better -- no tasks -- I'll save the big ones for tomorrow (or the next day...or the next).

About a month ago I attended an enrichment about depression -- one suggestion the speaker made has to be implemented today.

She suggested that when you are in a "funk" you give yourself a "five minute rule". Meaning that say your dishes need to be done, (who me?) you set your timer and tell yourself that you only have to do them for 5 minutes. I am often surprised by how much I can get done in 5 minutes. And usually after 5 minutes I can carry on for a few more and finish the task at hand. Then BONUS I get to cross something off my list. I love to cross things off my list.

So I guess I'll stop blogging now & go do my dishes for 5 minutes!

Oh & my s.i.l. Kim said she has tried this a few times and it has worked for her too. You know incase you needed a second opinion.

Snowball Quilt -- For Quilty Pleasures

I had quilt group last night and it was so nice to get out of the house. This week has been super busy and I am feeling kind of stressed out -- so I needed a night out. Plus what better way to spend a night than discussing one of my favorite topics -- quilting!

I learned a new way of making "flying geese" which is too complicated to explain here. I am going to have to try it out first and see if I understand! :D

Right now we are working on a "snowball" quilt. So each month we are supposed to bring 18 completed blocks -- the idea is that we will actually finish our quilts if we have a few deadlines. I am really enjoying this project.

I have all my fabric cut out and sitting on my sewing table. Then when I have 10 minutes or so I sew a block or two, or press a block or two. The quilt has been coming together quickly. I decided I will make a few more than the 100 blocks (50 dark & 50 light) we are supposed to be making. I am going to make 120 -- so it will fit a twin bed. I am going to give it to Cole.

Here is a little tutorial on how to make the "snowball" block. We are alternating dark (colored fabric) centers and light (colored fabric). Here is one of my "light" blocks.

Cut a 6 1/2 inch square cut from a light colored fabric and cut 4 2 1/2 inch squares from a dark colored fabric.

Pin the dark colored squares to the corners of the 6 1/2" block -- right sides together.

Pin them in place.

There are two ways of doing the next part. One way is to draw a diagonal line on the wrong side of the squares and sew on the drawn line. But because I am making so many of these I really didn't want to draw 480 little lines so this is what I did instead...

Take your ruler and line up the edge with your needle. Then draw a line on your sewing machine straight down. It helps if you line up your ruler with your mouth plate.

You can draw this line with a pencil so it can be erased later -- I just used a pen. (The other mess you see is a piece of tape I have that mark 1/4 inch) Then sew a line diagonally across the "dark" square keeping the corner or point of the square on the drawn line the entire time. Your sewing line will be straight and you just saved some time.

Sew all four corners this way.

Now you are going to press back the corners of your squares to make them triangles. To do this take the inside corner and fold it back like so...

The iron it down. Depending of the weight of fabric you may want to use spray starch.

Once you have ironed back all four corners you block should look like this...

The block looks complete but you want to get rid of the extra fabric so you don't have to worry about the extra thickness when you are quilting.

So trim the extra from the back with a good pair of scissors.

Now you're done!

Like I said I am alternating dark and light. Here are a few I laid out on my floor so you can have an idea of what it is going to look like.

There are 40 here. I think I am going to have mine 10 blocks across & 12 down. I have about 100 made -- so only twenty more!

More Dressing Up

Our RS birthday party fell on St. Patrick's Day so we worked it into the plans. It was so fun! I thought I'd share a few pictures from the night. Thanks Michelle for the pics!


Oh & there was a spiritual point lest you think it was all fun, games & a costume contest. We talked about the blessing we have received -- like the pot of gold & we put together newborn kits for the humanitarian center. I had a great time.

The Fairy Tea

My friend Cathie gave me some tickets to the Fairy Tea at the Provo Library. She gave me four tickets and since Alli wasn't too hip on the idea of dressing up like a fairy -- I asked Britney & Bella if they would join Lily & I.

Here the two munchkins are seated with the fairy king and surrounded by fairies from the "fairy realm". Lily was a little worried that she might have to sit on the kings lap -- she didn't really want to -- but she didn't have to worry for long. Bella charged up there and was happy to oblige.

Here is miss sassy Lily and Bella. This year Lily decided that she wanted to be a little different and not wear the pink or white wings. She opted instead for the Monarch wings. Besides black in more slimming (or so I've heard -- just look at what I wore)

So what do you think...do these three look bored?

Lily loved watching the ballerina's perform. She has begging to take classes and I have been so lame. I guess I really do need to get on the ball.

Here we are two hot fairies in black.

I really did have a great time. It is fun to get away and do something special with one of the kids. I love Lily s much she is s full of energy and happiness. I was a great morning!

"How To" speeches

Today in Lily's class the students all gave a "how to" speech where they had to explain to their fellow pupils how to accomplish a task. I love this idea. First because it gives the kids a chance to work on their public speaking. Second because their self-esteem gets a boost after accomplishing such a project. And third because it teaches them the process of completing a project, where they have to think through each step.

The kids all chose things like how to tie a tie, make lemonade or a peanut butter & jelly sandwich. I can't wait to hear what other things the kids in her class did this afternoon.

Lily decided that she wanted to show he class how to make her favorite treat...popcorn balls with m&m's. No small task in my opinion but she was pretty insistent (she can be that way) so I caved.

Now we didn't have a stove or a hot plate after all this isn't the Today Show. So we did a few "swap outs". Here she is starting out -- explaining what she will be making and what ingredients are needed.

She did a great job explaining everything. I think she has a future on the Food Network. She even wore an apron because "you are suppose to when you are cooking".

The final step in the process is to share with your friends -- which she did . The popcorn balls were a hit with the second graders!

Here is the recipe in case you would like to make these tasty treats:

2 quarts popped popcorn
10 pkg large marshmallows
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup butter
1 cup m&m's

1. Put the popcorn in a large bowl and set aside.
2. In a medium sauce pan melt the marshmallows with the butter & brown sugar.
3. Pour the melted mixture on top of the popcorn and stir.
4. Add the m&m's
5. Butter your hands and for the popcorn into balls
6. Share with your friends!

Chore Chart

The other day my friend Britney & I were talking and I said that I needed a little more help around the house -- so I guess I'd better have another baby. Of course I was kidding and of course it takes forever for them to grow up enough to "help" and of course it takes forever to teach them how to "help". Plus let's face it I don't think I can handle more than 5.

So that is where I am now trying to teach my little pups some responsibility so they can be good productive adults and (bonus) help vacuum. At book club the other night I was talking to Robyn about how to design an efficient chore/ job chart. She had some great ideas she got from this book which I guess I need to go buy today.

The problem is the more I think about it the more I just can't decide what to do. What "system will work best? I know a "wheel" kind of chart wont work because the chores that Alli can do are not the chores Barry can do.

So I am asking for a little help. What has worked for you? Have you used tickets, beans, money, a nice pat on the back for a reward? How often to you give a reward? How do you track progress? How have your kids responded? I don't want to have a system that will take too much time to manage but I really feel like I need some kind of system. OK I'll stop rambling now...let me know what you think.

AAARG!

Why is it that home improvements do nothing to improve your mood or the mood of your spouse? Cord & I have been trying to "redo" the bathroom and we expected some problems. But of course the problems we expected weren't really problems and we ended up with a whole different set of "issues". Oh the joys of owning a 100+ yr old house.

I can't wait to see the result of all of our hard work. But for now we will continue to joyfully fix the bathroom. We will continue speaking loving words to our walls & floor. Wish me luck!

Create

Have you seen this? If not you should. I loved this talk when I heard it and I love hearing his words again -- reminding me that I should use what resources I have and what talent I have to
make something beautiful for myself, friends and family. It also reminds me not to be too critical of my "creations".

"Everyone can create. You don’t need money, position, or influence in order to create something of substance or beauty."

It makes me want to create something!

What are you going to create?

Catching up with Cole & Lily

Today is crazy hair day for Cole & Lily. Their school celebrates Dr. Seuss's birthday with a literacy week. Each day they get to dress up. Tomorrow is "dress up as your favorite Dr. Seuss character". So here they are sporting their "crazy hair". Cole doesn't have much hair so we tried to spike what little there is. Lily had a ton of pony tails with various colored ribbons.
What fun it is to be a kid!

Cole was in the science fair at school. It is optional for 5th graders but he really wanted to do it. Cole LOVES science. For his project he wanted to see if he could build a motor with household objects. He decided that you could -- but only if you had some copper wire laying around.

He worked on the project all by himself. Since he loves to take things apart and figure out how they work this was a great project for him. In fact one day he came home from school with a computer cpu. I was a little alarmed. Where did you get that!?

It turns out his (wonderful) teacher Mr Earl had given it to Cole so he could take it apart.

The school had a chance to go through the science fair and check out all the projects. Lily was pretty proud of her brother. I must say that I was too. Cole recently got an award for being in the top 10% of U.S. students who took the Iowa test in the science category.

A few weeks ago Lily's class had a Cinderella day. As part of it they dressed up and learned how to ballroom dance. So fun! She has such a creative teacher!

Last week the 2nd graders preformed their patriotic program. The kids were all dressed in red white or blue and formed a flag on stage. They sang patriotic songs and amazingly all repeated the preamble to the constitution. Here Lily is with her one of her BFF's Tani

This is Lily's amazing teacher Mrs. Sugu. Lil just loves her so much.



Lily & Tani quoted Theodore Roosevelt for their portion. It was a really long quote but Lily being the champ that she is did a great job & had it memorized in two days.

Sorry for the poor filming. I used my digital camera because I forgot the video camera. And please excuse the child that kept waking in front of me. I tried to trip him but he jumped.