Tomorrow is my dad's birthday. Happy birthday Dad! Hope you like what I got you!
I was going to buy him this really nice grill set. But then I thought to myself, and Marshy, outloud "I don't recall ever seeing a grill at their house." So I called Mike. He didn't recall ever seeing a grill at their house either. They have a gas fire pit, but we weren't sure if they used that for grilling. It takes forever to do marshmallows!
Anyway, I decided not to get him the grill set. Instead I made him a gift bag with treats and Season 2 of Gilligan's Island (I gave him Season 1 a few years ago). The reason I went with the gift bag was because after walking around Wal-Mart for almost 90 minutes, trying to get a hold of someone in the family, I decided that because they weren't answering my calls, I got to decide what to get him! hahahaha! The gift bag has some white cheddar popcorn, Sun-Dried Tomato Pringles, Chocolate Turtle Chex Mix, Mint Milano cookies, two boxes of Orange Sticks (the best ever!), and the movie. I think he'll like it.
The other reason why I decided to go with the gift bag is because I was tired of people looking at me like I beat my child. Marshy's eye is a lot better, but the whole left side of his face is one giant black, purple, and hot pink bruise! To top it off, they had a GIANT display of BALLS, right in the middle of the main aisle! Balls that were twice the size of Marshy! And of course, all he could think about was "BALL!" "Mommy, where's ball?" "MOMMY! BALL!" "WAAAAAAAAAH!!!!!" And of course, I looked like the mean parent who not only beats my child, but also won't let him have a ball.
NOTE: Marshy has so many balls, it isn't even funny! If I bought him a ball every time we went to Wal-Mart, which is where he always sees them and ALWAYS wants one, then I wouldn't have any room to walk in our house! Also, I don't beat my child. He fell down the stairs. In his stroller. Again, not on purpose, I was standing right there and it slipped off the landing. I don't generally leave him in his stroller at the tops of stairs. I'm not that irresponsible!
Saturday, May 31, 2008
Friday, May 30, 2008
Round Two
More pictures of the sad sad boy this morning. His eye was swollen shut when he woke up. It gradually got a lot better, to the point where it was almost 3/4 of the way open by mid morning. Poor guy! Of course, as soon as he saw me with the camera, he tried to ham it up, but he had some issues smiling.
He tried to do his cute, big smile here in this picture, and you can kind of tell. His cheek has gone down a lot, as has his forehead. Really it's just his lip, his eye, and the big scrape down the front of his face now.
We went over to Lola's house this morning, and because his eye was still mostly closed, he ran around with his arms counterbalancing him, and his head tipped to the side. It was kind of funny, yet sad at the same time. By the end of the day though, he was back to running like normal! YAY!
ROCKY
I was going to post a post about quilting today. One of my clients brought me another quilt. She also said that she took the 4 that I did for her in March and April to her quilt group, and that everyone gushed about how good they were. That totally made my day! That and the fact that she liked me enough to bring me another quilt. I always worry that people won't like what I do. Quilting is kind of an art form, and it is very interperative. A quilt might "say" something to me, but something different to someone else. I always try to make sure that I have a clear picture of what my clients want me to do before I start quilting. I haven't really had anyone complain, that I know of, so I guess that means I'm doing a good job. I know that I am so over-critical of myself, but I find that if I care a lot about what I'm doing, then I am extra careful and way anal about making sure it looks practically perfect. But anyway, I was going to do a post about quilting, until something happened.
Today was a sad, sad day. We went over to Grandma's to help clean and get ready for their return to the U.S. on Tuesday. Marshy-marsh was in his stroller, and I had pulled it up the bottom three stairs to the living room. There are three stairs, then a landing, and then four more stairs. The diaper bag was making the turn on the landing difficult, so I turned around to put it down so I could pull Marshy and the stroller up the remaining four stairs. All the wheels were on the landing. Can you see where this is going? It was awful! Marshy must have been wiggling just enough to lurch the stroller forward, and as I turned around to grab the stroller and pull him up the last few stairs, it slid off the landing, down one step, and then tipped over on top of him in the entryway. WITH HIM STRAPPED IN. I screamed. There was nothing I could do. It was like it happened in slow motion, ya know? But I didn't get there in time to save my baby. He ended up face down in the tiled entry. SCREAMING. I pulled the stroller off of him, and hurriedly unbuckled him. He had a huge bump on his forehead, his eye was swollen and a little cut, his cheek was scraped up, and his mouth was bleeding.
At first we all thought he would maybe need stitches, but as he calmed down a little, and we were able to see into his mouth, it appeared that he had just cut his lip on his new eyeteeth. It didn't look that bad, just very swollen, and a tiny little cut. Of course, head and mouth wounds always bleed a ton, so it's hard to tell if it's serious or not at first.
Naturally, I didn't have ANY medicine in the diaper bag. It seems like when I need it it's in the medicine cupboard at home, and when I don't need it it's in the diaper bag. Anyway, I ran to the local grocery store, in the next town over because our new one hasn't been built yet, and grabbed some generic Ibuprofen. He would only take half a dose. I felt so bad forcing it into his mouth. He hates taking medicine. The only way we can get it down is if we lay him on the floor, and pin his arms and legs down, and squirt it in his mouth while he is screaming hysterically.
Also, he didn't want anything to do with me for the longest time. I felt so bad about the whole thing. I still do. He has such a sad and swollen face now. And of course it had to happen just days before he meets Grandma and Grandpa for the first time! Grrr!
Today was a sad, sad day. We went over to Grandma's to help clean and get ready for their return to the U.S. on Tuesday. Marshy-marsh was in his stroller, and I had pulled it up the bottom three stairs to the living room. There are three stairs, then a landing, and then four more stairs. The diaper bag was making the turn on the landing difficult, so I turned around to put it down so I could pull Marshy and the stroller up the remaining four stairs. All the wheels were on the landing. Can you see where this is going? It was awful! Marshy must have been wiggling just enough to lurch the stroller forward, and as I turned around to grab the stroller and pull him up the last few stairs, it slid off the landing, down one step, and then tipped over on top of him in the entryway. WITH HIM STRAPPED IN. I screamed. There was nothing I could do. It was like it happened in slow motion, ya know? But I didn't get there in time to save my baby. He ended up face down in the tiled entry. SCREAMING. I pulled the stroller off of him, and hurriedly unbuckled him. He had a huge bump on his forehead, his eye was swollen and a little cut, his cheek was scraped up, and his mouth was bleeding.
At first we all thought he would maybe need stitches, but as he calmed down a little, and we were able to see into his mouth, it appeared that he had just cut his lip on his new eyeteeth. It didn't look that bad, just very swollen, and a tiny little cut. Of course, head and mouth wounds always bleed a ton, so it's hard to tell if it's serious or not at first.
Naturally, I didn't have ANY medicine in the diaper bag. It seems like when I need it it's in the medicine cupboard at home, and when I don't need it it's in the diaper bag. Anyway, I ran to the local grocery store, in the next town over because our new one hasn't been built yet, and grabbed some generic Ibuprofen. He would only take half a dose. I felt so bad forcing it into his mouth. He hates taking medicine. The only way we can get it down is if we lay him on the floor, and pin his arms and legs down, and squirt it in his mouth while he is screaming hysterically.
Also, he didn't want anything to do with me for the longest time. I felt so bad about the whole thing. I still do. He has such a sad and swollen face now. And of course it had to happen just days before he meets Grandma and Grandpa for the first time! Grrr!
You can kind of see the scrapes and bumps in this picture. The cold bottle made his mouth feel better, I'm sure, and was a definite comfort for him. You can't really see, but his white t-shirt is totally covered with blood and spit and milk at the top, and he is holding his puppy (also a comfort item). He is sitting on Mike's lap. He only wanted his daddy. No one else.
This is a closer shot of his face. You can see his swollen eye and cheek better from this angle. His mouth is way swollen on the side too, but you can't tell because of the bottle. When I took these pictures with my camera phone (sorry Ninja, but you'll have to deal with the "blurry photos" again) the swelling had gone down a lot.
However, he woke up about half an hour ago, sad and sore. I gave him another half dose of Ibuprofen, because his eye was almost completely swollen shut, and his lip is all black and blue. I guess bruises have to get worse before they can get better. I just hope Grandma and Grandpa don't get scared off by "swollen face" baby on Tuesday. Just picture him as cute as all his other pictures, okay? Hopefully the swelling will go down. We tried to ice it, but he doesn't like it if you touch him with cold or wet, so we had a tough time. In fact, he wouldn't let me clean his chin off until about 9 PM (he fell around 6:30).
The boys have been giving me a hard time....especially Ninja, JR..... he kept saying I pushed him down the stairs. That just makes me feel even worse. I guess it is in boys' natures to be mean and tease, but it just doesn't seem right to tease a worried mom about her hurt baby. The good thing was that Lola and Scott and Diana were all there, and they have had this happen to kids before. Apparently the Evil Glass Coffee Table from Heck has caused plenty of bumps and cuts and stitches. Who would've thought it would be the "safe" stairs, too? I mean, it's not like Marshy has somersaulted down them before (he has) or fallen down the tall upstairs with the pointy planter corner at the bottome (he has) without getting hurt (he hasn't ever gotten hurt falling down the stairs before....WHAT THE HECK?!) I guess rather than get attacked by the coffee table he has chosen the stairs.
Sparky totally freaked out, too, when it happened. He didn't understand what was happening, but he wanted to sit by Mike and Marshy for the longest time. Marshy didn't want anything to do with him, and when he licked Marshy's foot, Marshy freaked out a little. Eventually Marshy returned to a somewhat-normal state and played with Sparky and Bella (Angel's dog).
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
Dumb. Stupid. Trains.
Mike's car alarm has been going off rather frequently as of late. Last night a train drove by, and then a car alarm sounded. It was going for a good 30 seconds before I said, "Honey, are you sure that isn't your car?"
Mike: Yes, that doesn't sound like my alarm.
I walked to the window and looked out. What do you think I found? HIS CAR ALARM WAS GOING OFF! Hmmm....someone needs to familiarize himself with his alarm again, methinks.
I ran downstairs, barefoot and keyless, to see what was going on. Mike was frantically trying to find his keys so we could get it to shut off. About 3 minutes later....or maybe 5... we finally got it to stop. Everything was still there, and looked untouched. Mike thinks the train triggered the alarm, since had someone been trying doors in the parking lot, we probably would've heard some choice curse words (our window was open) when the alarm started going off.
Well, tonight it happened again. I again ran downstairs, keys in hand to check it out. Again, it happened right after a train drove by. This really is getting annoying. I can't imagine what the neighbors would have done had we not been there. I'm sure it would have been awful (especially after the other day when I accidentally forgot to turn off the timer on the stove and 4 hours later when we got home it was still going off). After looking at all of the many different scenarios as to the cause of the alarm trigger, we have decided that it is in fact the train. Not just any train, either, but a particularly heavy train that has to go very SLOWLY past the complex, and it's wheels grate and squeak and squeal on the tracks. It's awful. Stupid trains. Stupid sensitive car alarms. STUPID.
Mike: Yes, that doesn't sound like my alarm.
I walked to the window and looked out. What do you think I found? HIS CAR ALARM WAS GOING OFF! Hmmm....someone needs to familiarize himself with his alarm again, methinks.
I ran downstairs, barefoot and keyless, to see what was going on. Mike was frantically trying to find his keys so we could get it to shut off. About 3 minutes later....or maybe 5... we finally got it to stop. Everything was still there, and looked untouched. Mike thinks the train triggered the alarm, since had someone been trying doors in the parking lot, we probably would've heard some choice curse words (our window was open) when the alarm started going off.
Well, tonight it happened again. I again ran downstairs, keys in hand to check it out. Again, it happened right after a train drove by. This really is getting annoying. I can't imagine what the neighbors would have done had we not been there. I'm sure it would have been awful (especially after the other day when I accidentally forgot to turn off the timer on the stove and 4 hours later when we got home it was still going off). After looking at all of the many different scenarios as to the cause of the alarm trigger, we have decided that it is in fact the train. Not just any train, either, but a particularly heavy train that has to go very SLOWLY past the complex, and it's wheels grate and squeak and squeal on the tracks. It's awful. Stupid trains. Stupid sensitive car alarms. STUPID.
Tuesday, May 27, 2008
Cemetary Hopping
For Memorial Day we visited several different cemetaries. Having spent some time at the floral last week, it was fun to see which pieces our shop had done and which pieces other florals had done. Obviously ours were superior to anything else!
We started the day off in SF at nephew Colton's grave. He hasn't had a lot of grass until recently, and I don't know what kind they used but it is definitely different than all the other grass in the cemetary, which is cool. There were already a lot of flowers on it. I wish I had thought to take the camera, but I didn't. Friends and family had stopped and left mementos and remembrances of him. It was all very beautiful.
Then we went to Grandma and Grandpa's graves. Keep in mind that these are Mike's grandparents on his mother's side, so I don't know a whole lot about the history and geneology here. Along the way we stopped and looked at various other people's headstones. My favorites are the old pioneer-y ones. Definitely cool.
Then we went over and looked at some original pioneer graves. Again, very cool as they had a photocopy of a restored old family photograph in a sheet protector on the grave, as well as having it marked with a colored flag.
After spending some time throwing pine cones at each other and walking around, we got back into our cars and drove to the next cemetary. We had 5 cars, and we parked every other parking space. It was quite funny, actually. Totally not done on purpose, either. We went and visited Grandma and Grandpa's graves, again Mike's grandparents on his father's side, along with Aunt B and Luanne, a family friend. Then someone brought up the bear. No, not Colton's bear, a GRIZZLY BEAR! There is an old headstone that says something about the person buried there, and then "Killed by a Grizzly Bear". It's actually pretty cool that they say that. Unfortunately, it is really old and you can barely read it.
Again, we threw some pine cones and visited other graves before hopping back in our cars. At this point, we are FREEZING because it is cold and windy and rainy, and half of us were dumb and didn't bring jackets or umbrellas or anything. We drove on down to P-town's cemetary where we visited Max. We also saw the graves of Daniel Stark and his three wives. They came to Utah on the Brooklyn many many many years ago. The Brooklyn was the pioneer ship that sailed from New York to San Fransisco, and I believe it had to go all the way around South America. It was really neat to see the graves, because they made mention of the fact that they were on the Brooklyn.
As we were looking for Daniel Stark's actual buriel site (he has a monument by two of his wives, and is buried on the completely other side of the cemetary with his third wife), I asked Mike where Orange Horatio was. See, when we had Marshy, he wanted to name him Orange. I said no. "But Orange Horatio is a family name!" was his argument. I stuck with No. Anyway, I've kind of always wanted to see the grave. No one really knew where exactly it was, and we were again freezing our bums off in the cold wind and rain.
We threw some more pine cones, almost hitting a few old ladies who definitely did NOT belong to our family, and hopped back in our cars. We had one last cemetary to go to: Benji! The Benji cemetary is really really little. Like, one road little. We got out, saw the monument, walked to the graves and then ran back to the cars. By this point we had gone from 5 to 2 vehicles. Yes, 3 cars wussed out and went home.
All in all, it was a pretty fun trip. I hadn't actually been to a cemetary on Memorial Day since I was probably 16 or 17. My mom's family is either in Wyoming or Emery County, Utah. My dad's family is mostly up in Southern Idaho, so no matter what we have quite the lengthy drive to get there, and it requires a lot of planning and stuff.
We started the day off in SF at nephew Colton's grave. He hasn't had a lot of grass until recently, and I don't know what kind they used but it is definitely different than all the other grass in the cemetary, which is cool. There were already a lot of flowers on it. I wish I had thought to take the camera, but I didn't. Friends and family had stopped and left mementos and remembrances of him. It was all very beautiful.
Then we went to Grandma and Grandpa's graves. Keep in mind that these are Mike's grandparents on his mother's side, so I don't know a whole lot about the history and geneology here. Along the way we stopped and looked at various other people's headstones. My favorites are the old pioneer-y ones. Definitely cool.
Then we went over and looked at some original pioneer graves. Again, very cool as they had a photocopy of a restored old family photograph in a sheet protector on the grave, as well as having it marked with a colored flag.
After spending some time throwing pine cones at each other and walking around, we got back into our cars and drove to the next cemetary. We had 5 cars, and we parked every other parking space. It was quite funny, actually. Totally not done on purpose, either. We went and visited Grandma and Grandpa's graves, again Mike's grandparents on his father's side, along with Aunt B and Luanne, a family friend. Then someone brought up the bear. No, not Colton's bear, a GRIZZLY BEAR! There is an old headstone that says something about the person buried there, and then "Killed by a Grizzly Bear". It's actually pretty cool that they say that. Unfortunately, it is really old and you can barely read it.
Again, we threw some pine cones and visited other graves before hopping back in our cars. At this point, we are FREEZING because it is cold and windy and rainy, and half of us were dumb and didn't bring jackets or umbrellas or anything. We drove on down to P-town's cemetary where we visited Max. We also saw the graves of Daniel Stark and his three wives. They came to Utah on the Brooklyn many many many years ago. The Brooklyn was the pioneer ship that sailed from New York to San Fransisco, and I believe it had to go all the way around South America. It was really neat to see the graves, because they made mention of the fact that they were on the Brooklyn.
As we were looking for Daniel Stark's actual buriel site (he has a monument by two of his wives, and is buried on the completely other side of the cemetary with his third wife), I asked Mike where Orange Horatio was. See, when we had Marshy, he wanted to name him Orange. I said no. "But Orange Horatio is a family name!" was his argument. I stuck with No. Anyway, I've kind of always wanted to see the grave. No one really knew where exactly it was, and we were again freezing our bums off in the cold wind and rain.
We threw some more pine cones, almost hitting a few old ladies who definitely did NOT belong to our family, and hopped back in our cars. We had one last cemetary to go to: Benji! The Benji cemetary is really really little. Like, one road little. We got out, saw the monument, walked to the graves and then ran back to the cars. By this point we had gone from 5 to 2 vehicles. Yes, 3 cars wussed out and went home.
All in all, it was a pretty fun trip. I hadn't actually been to a cemetary on Memorial Day since I was probably 16 or 17. My mom's family is either in Wyoming or Emery County, Utah. My dad's family is mostly up in Southern Idaho, so no matter what we have quite the lengthy drive to get there, and it requires a lot of planning and stuff.
Sewing daily sewing
I haven't exactly been sewing daily. However, I have been trying to get some craft centered thing-a-ma-jig done each day. Lately I've been working on Christmas stockings. Yes, I know it's May. BUT! I purchased three adorable needlepoint stocking kits last September and do you think I had any Christmas stockings hanging in our house in time for Santa Claus? NO! Why? Because they are HARD and take FOREVER!!! I have finished one except for the putting together and finishing the detail work. That one is Marshy's. Tonight I worked on mine. I gut the stocking back and sewed it to the front and then I got to the part where it called for couching. Uh-uh. Not tonight. So not willing to frustrate myself beyond all else. Maybe tomorrow. If you're wondering where the pictures of my progress are, you don't get any until they are done because otherwise they just look weird.
After giving up on the stocking "front" (haha! I made a play on words and I didn't even mean to!) I decided to get to work on a diaper bag I am designing and making. I asked Lola for some zipper advice a couple of days ago, which was smart because now I know how to install an inside zipper pocket! Who knew it was "sew" easy?! hahahaha I made a lot of progress tonight, and hope to have the lining for the bag completely assembled at some point tomorrow. I sewed until almost 11 PM, one hour past noise curfew, because I have decided that since my downstairs neighbors have moved most of their belongings as of this morning, I don't really care what they do or say to me. They are moving. They shouldn't complain.
Anyway, what I really want to sew is some clothes! I have all of these way cute patterns, and no cute clothes. What is wrong with this picture? Is it lack of fabric? sort of. Is it because I am lazy? Not so much. I think it is because I hate having to undress to try the thing on to make sure I can get it up over my gi-normous hips, thighs, butt, boobs, whatever. Then you have to try to take the thing off so carefully so nothing rips or comes unstitched or tears and put your clothes back on! I would sew naked, but I have discovered that even though the blinds are closed, you can still see inside my apartment at night from the parking lot if the lights are on. Hmmm.....Hope ya'all enjoyed the view that time I came running out of the shower because baby was screaming hysterically because that WILL NOT be repeated EVER AGAIN now that I have this window knowledge. *Secretly I'm hoping Mike will allow the purchase of 4 yards of fabric for curtains....that would be nice!*
Back to the clothes sewing....sorry, I get distracted. Lola had mentioned seeing somewhere that someone had made their own dress form. Holy cow! I was totally interested in this. I have wanted a dress form ever since I started watching Project Runway last year! They are really mega-expensive though, and you have to special order them. At my local Jo-Ann's fabrics, they were on sale for like $90, but it was for either the S the M or the L sized form, and it took a while to get it since it was a special order. Normally the crappy model is $130! So, when Lola said we could make our own, I was totally in.
It involves Duct Tape. I have a lot of experience with Duct Tape. We are old friends. In fact, we once used Duct tape, along with Scotch and others, to tape all of my Latin teacher's belongings to the ceiling one day in Latin 2.....and Latin 3. Yes, we did it two years in a row, and she still loved us. Amazing!
I did an internet search for the site, and I believe this is the one that Lola got the idea from, but I'm not 100% sure. It is great, cuz it tells you what you need and how to do it. I am definitely trying this. And yes, there will be pictures involved because you can't do something this cool and not document it. Until then, I will be sewing daily sewing....or at least trying to.
After giving up on the stocking "front" (haha! I made a play on words and I didn't even mean to!) I decided to get to work on a diaper bag I am designing and making. I asked Lola for some zipper advice a couple of days ago, which was smart because now I know how to install an inside zipper pocket! Who knew it was "sew" easy?! hahahaha I made a lot of progress tonight, and hope to have the lining for the bag completely assembled at some point tomorrow. I sewed until almost 11 PM, one hour past noise curfew, because I have decided that since my downstairs neighbors have moved most of their belongings as of this morning, I don't really care what they do or say to me. They are moving. They shouldn't complain.
Anyway, what I really want to sew is some clothes! I have all of these way cute patterns, and no cute clothes. What is wrong with this picture? Is it lack of fabric? sort of. Is it because I am lazy? Not so much. I think it is because I hate having to undress to try the thing on to make sure I can get it up over my gi-normous hips, thighs, butt, boobs, whatever. Then you have to try to take the thing off so carefully so nothing rips or comes unstitched or tears and put your clothes back on! I would sew naked, but I have discovered that even though the blinds are closed, you can still see inside my apartment at night from the parking lot if the lights are on. Hmmm.....Hope ya'all enjoyed the view that time I came running out of the shower because baby was screaming hysterically because that WILL NOT be repeated EVER AGAIN now that I have this window knowledge. *Secretly I'm hoping Mike will allow the purchase of 4 yards of fabric for curtains....that would be nice!*
Back to the clothes sewing....sorry, I get distracted. Lola had mentioned seeing somewhere that someone had made their own dress form. Holy cow! I was totally interested in this. I have wanted a dress form ever since I started watching Project Runway last year! They are really mega-expensive though, and you have to special order them. At my local Jo-Ann's fabrics, they were on sale for like $90, but it was for either the S the M or the L sized form, and it took a while to get it since it was a special order. Normally the crappy model is $130! So, when Lola said we could make our own, I was totally in.
It involves Duct Tape. I have a lot of experience with Duct Tape. We are old friends. In fact, we once used Duct tape, along with Scotch and others, to tape all of my Latin teacher's belongings to the ceiling one day in Latin 2.....and Latin 3. Yes, we did it two years in a row, and she still loved us. Amazing!
I did an internet search for the site, and I believe this is the one that Lola got the idea from, but I'm not 100% sure. It is great, cuz it tells you what you need and how to do it. I am definitely trying this. And yes, there will be pictures involved because you can't do something this cool and not document it. Until then, I will be sewing daily sewing....or at least trying to.
Monday, May 26, 2008
Sadly Released
Mike and I were released from our church callings yesterday. I am not so disappointed to be calling-less for the time being. Maybe I'll actually get to go to Sunday school and Relief Society after spending 3 years involved in primary, and waiting for Marshy to get into Nursery (which, consequently still does not have a new nursery leader, so I ended up having to stay in there the whole time instead of going to class yesterday!).
Mike was involved with the Venture Scouting. When they called him to be the assistant they asked him if he was willing to give at least a ten year commitment. He said he was. They knew we were going to be moving shortly, but that we were building within the ward boundaries and would still be attending the ward. Well, he is now released, and the guy they put in instead plays arena football or something like that. ALSO, they waited until the leaders and scouts were done with Scuba classes to release Mike and put this new guy in.....not really the smartest thing because now they have a leader who won't be able to Scuba dive with them. Dumb!
Mike is really sad to be released. This was his favorite calling. He got to hang out with his brother, Scott, and do all sorts of fun things. I on the other hand, am kind of happy. I felt like I had too much to do, and not enough time.....maybe it's the over-active 1 year old I have running around my house.
I was in the Cub Scouts, and honestly maybe only went to 3 or 4 den meetings in the short time that I was in there. Den meetings were easier, when I remembered to go. I was Lola's assistant, and Lola, I'm sorry I wasn't there very much!
Mike was involved with the Venture Scouting. When they called him to be the assistant they asked him if he was willing to give at least a ten year commitment. He said he was. They knew we were going to be moving shortly, but that we were building within the ward boundaries and would still be attending the ward. Well, he is now released, and the guy they put in instead plays arena football or something like that. ALSO, they waited until the leaders and scouts were done with Scuba classes to release Mike and put this new guy in.....not really the smartest thing because now they have a leader who won't be able to Scuba dive with them. Dumb!
Mike is really sad to be released. This was his favorite calling. He got to hang out with his brother, Scott, and do all sorts of fun things. I on the other hand, am kind of happy. I felt like I had too much to do, and not enough time.....maybe it's the over-active 1 year old I have running around my house.
I was in the Cub Scouts, and honestly maybe only went to 3 or 4 den meetings in the short time that I was in there. Den meetings were easier, when I remembered to go. I was Lola's assistant, and Lola, I'm sorry I wasn't there very much!
Friday, May 23, 2008
HOORAY!
So, if you will recall a few weeks ago I posted about our neighbors downstairs and how they thought Marshy was too loud. Well, GOOD NEWS!! Today I noticed that they had a "For Sale" posted in their window! HOORAY!! I don't know if they were planning on moving, or if we drove them to it, but I certainly hope that they find somewhere where they won't be annoyed by the pitter-patter of little baby feet in the apartment above. Also, I hope someone with small kids moves in, because that would be nice. And, they would understand, hopefully, that it is practically impossible to keep little ones' energy pent up all the time.
I know of this first hand, as Marshy has spent most of today in his stroller. I feel bad, but I have been cleaning carpets and I can't have him running around destroying things while I clean. Besides, it wasn't even my house! What would be worse than having him break something that belonged to someone else? At least if it was my stuff I wouldn't be too mad, because I know better than to put breakables within baby-reach.
Also, while I was cleaning carpets I realized that it makes the rooms smell sooooo nice and clean and good. Now it makes me want to clean all the carpets in our house, even though they were "just professionally cleaned" (according to the land lady....but they still smell like cat pee. Explain that one to me?) Anyway, I've had some bad experiences getting cat pee smell out of carpets. In fact, I'm pretty sure that the only way to totally eliminate the smell is to replace the carpet. Guess I'll be living with cat pee smell for another 9-10 months. Oh well!
I know of this first hand, as Marshy has spent most of today in his stroller. I feel bad, but I have been cleaning carpets and I can't have him running around destroying things while I clean. Besides, it wasn't even my house! What would be worse than having him break something that belonged to someone else? At least if it was my stuff I wouldn't be too mad, because I know better than to put breakables within baby-reach.
Also, while I was cleaning carpets I realized that it makes the rooms smell sooooo nice and clean and good. Now it makes me want to clean all the carpets in our house, even though they were "just professionally cleaned" (according to the land lady....but they still smell like cat pee. Explain that one to me?) Anyway, I've had some bad experiences getting cat pee smell out of carpets. In fact, I'm pretty sure that the only way to totally eliminate the smell is to replace the carpet. Guess I'll be living with cat pee smell for another 9-10 months. Oh well!
Thursday, May 22, 2008
Sore
So I did about an hour's worth of workout on the Wii Fit yesterday, and all I can say is OW! I slept pretty good. But waking up was the painful part. My muscles aren't used to working that much. Sure, I get a good exercise chasing Marshy-marsh around the apartment, and carrying him up and down three flights of stairs several times a day. BUT, This is totally different. I don't remember the last time my abs worked that hard, and now they hurt really bad. I'm sure it will get less painful as time goes on, but there's only one way to find out, and that is by continuing to do it. I'm not very good at that, because usually I put off my working out until I don't hurt anymore....Like with Turbo Jam. My goal is to not do that with this though, because it was expensive, and I can't just let it sit on the floor under the TV cabinet. Wish me luck!
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
OUCH-ies and UH-OHs
Tried the Wii Fit this morning. Wow is all I can say. It is sure tough. I thought that the hula hoop mini game would be easy-peasey. HAHAHA I was wrong. It is hard. And apparently I am not very well balanced. But, it is fun. I have set my weight goal and BMI goal and I have three months to achieve it. Although, I'm sure it wouldn't hurt if I were to achieve it maybe before Deer Valley this year! Mike just heard what I was typing (yes, I type outloud sometimes) and he laughed at me! He says it won't happen! How rude!
Marshy was taking his bath and he saw the chair guard sitting on the bathroom counter. He pointed at it and said "UH-OH" I didn't know quite what he was talking about, so I said "What?" And he pointed back at it and said "UH-OH Mommy. UH-OH" It was then that I realized that he thought his tub was broken because it didn't have a chair guard anymore. Later in the bath, he stood up and then sat down and there was a HUGE splash. "UH-OH"
Marshy was taking his bath and he saw the chair guard sitting on the bathroom counter. He pointed at it and said "UH-OH" I didn't know quite what he was talking about, so I said "What?" And he pointed back at it and said "UH-OH Mommy. UH-OH" It was then that I realized that he thought his tub was broken because it didn't have a chair guard anymore. Later in the bath, he stood up and then sat down and there was a HUGE splash. "UH-OH"
{Insert freak out here}
I GOT IT! I GOT IT! I GOT IT! I GOT IT!
YAY! YAY! YAY!
After sitting in line for almost 2 hours, I am now the proud owner (and second person to purchase one of these tonight at the local Wal-Mart) of a brand SPANKING NEW:
YAY! YAY! YAY!I can't wait to try it out tomorrow....well, today, but after I sleep for a long long time because I am EXHAUSTED! Yes, I'm putting off my workout for 8 or so more hours. But I promise that I will use this!!
Oh, and Thanks SO VERY VERY MUCH to Hubby Mike who let me put it on his credit card. It was, after all, my Mother's Day Gift! YAY!
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
Milestones
We have reached several milestones this week. First of all, Marshy-marsh knows the difference between Puppy, and everything else (for the most part). And, Puppy now will hold his attention as long as it is on TV. For example, the new Disney movie called Beverly Hills Chihuahua held his attention for the whole time. In fact, he was so excited about so many Puppies on TV that he yelled "PUPPY!" the whole 30 seconds.
The second milestone we reached was at meal time. Marshy-marsh will actually eat food now! YAY!! He absolutely LOVES red grapes. In fact, he can't get enough. This is such a relief, since at his last visit, Dr. Savage stressed the importance of making him eat fruits and vegetables. Now, how you MAKE a 1-year old eat something is beyond me, especially when they are as strong as Marshy is (have any doubts about his strength? Just ask Lola....she helped hold him down at the hospital several months ago.)
The third milestone we reached was at bath time. Marshy took his first bath ever without his bath guard! YAY!!
Mommy had to strategically place some items to make this picture G-rated.
And of course, we had to get a shot of that great smile. Marshy just loves to ham it up for the camera!
And then of course, playing with his cups in the tub. He is so smart, he can put them all in order from biggest to smallest. WOW!
The second milestone we reached was at meal time. Marshy-marsh will actually eat food now! YAY!! He absolutely LOVES red grapes. In fact, he can't get enough. This is such a relief, since at his last visit, Dr. Savage stressed the importance of making him eat fruits and vegetables. Now, how you MAKE a 1-year old eat something is beyond me, especially when they are as strong as Marshy is (have any doubts about his strength? Just ask Lola....she helped hold him down at the hospital several months ago.)
The third milestone we reached was at bath time. Marshy took his first bath ever without his bath guard! YAY!!
Mommy had to strategically place some items to make this picture G-rated.
And of course, we had to get a shot of that great smile. Marshy just loves to ham it up for the camera!
And then of course, playing with his cups in the tub. He is so smart, he can put them all in order from biggest to smallest. WOW!
Sunday, May 18, 2008
It just keeps getting better
So today we discovered a lovely secret about our apartment. Not only do all of the bedroom doors lock, they lock with keys! So, what this means is that if you were to, say, lock yourself out of your room, you would need a key to get back in. You can't just jimmy the lock with a hanger.
How did we find this out? Well, Marshy-marsh locked himself in his room. Yes, by himself. Don't ask me how, I have no idea! He can't even turn the door knob. You have to push and then turn the knob in order to get it to lock, so I don't know how it happened.
We hurried and called our land lady. Oh she is so great! NOT! She kept the keys, and each door has a different key! Then, to top it all off, she can hear Marshy screaming hysterically that he is locked in, but says "Well, I guess you just don't figure they can do things that they can. I have the keys at home, but I'm not home. I can probably get them all down to you next week sometime." When we asked her if she would deduct a locksmith from our rent, or at least reimburse us some of the cost, she replied "Well, it depends on how much it is. I'd have to think about it."
WHAT THE HECK!! What kind of landlady is she? First of all, we should have received the keys the day we moved in. I mean, she's not living here, so why does she need the keys? Secondly, she could hear him screaming, and all she could say was "Well, I can get the keys to you next week."
Anyway, after calling 8 locksmiths, we finally found one who was willing to make a call (even though they are all listed as 24/7 locksmiths!). He only charged us $48.00, too. He was a really nice old man. He took 5 seconds to pop the lock open. Marshy was standing on the other side of the door, smiling from ear to ear. I'm sending our rent payment off this week, and let me tell you, I am sending her a copy of the invoice and asking her to pay half. Don't you think that's fair? I'd love to hear your opinions on the matter, just leave a comment!
How did we find this out? Well, Marshy-marsh locked himself in his room. Yes, by himself. Don't ask me how, I have no idea! He can't even turn the door knob. You have to push and then turn the knob in order to get it to lock, so I don't know how it happened.
We hurried and called our land lady. Oh she is so great! NOT! She kept the keys, and each door has a different key! Then, to top it all off, she can hear Marshy screaming hysterically that he is locked in, but says "Well, I guess you just don't figure they can do things that they can. I have the keys at home, but I'm not home. I can probably get them all down to you next week sometime." When we asked her if she would deduct a locksmith from our rent, or at least reimburse us some of the cost, she replied "Well, it depends on how much it is. I'd have to think about it."
WHAT THE HECK!! What kind of landlady is she? First of all, we should have received the keys the day we moved in. I mean, she's not living here, so why does she need the keys? Secondly, she could hear him screaming, and all she could say was "Well, I can get the keys to you next week."
Anyway, after calling 8 locksmiths, we finally found one who was willing to make a call (even though they are all listed as 24/7 locksmiths!). He only charged us $48.00, too. He was a really nice old man. He took 5 seconds to pop the lock open. Marshy was standing on the other side of the door, smiling from ear to ear. I'm sending our rent payment off this week, and let me tell you, I am sending her a copy of the invoice and asking her to pay half. Don't you think that's fair? I'd love to hear your opinions on the matter, just leave a comment!
Friday, May 16, 2008
Oh how I {heart} GOOGLE!
So, after I wrote my last post yesterday, I decided to do a little research on Google as to what would actually happen, should Marshy-marsh have gotten some of the Comet in his mouth. Now, I am pretty sure he didn't, because I smelled it and it smelled like baby mouth, not cleaner. Also, I am pretty sure that none got in his eyes because he would have been SCREAMING hysterically. Well, I found a nifty website, courtesy of Google, that lists all of the cleaner's properties and what you should do should you actually ingest the cleaner.
WELL! Luckily enough, Comet isn't that dangerous!! The sheet lists the symptoms that occur when ingested, and it says that "mild gastrointestinal irritation" may occur, along with naseua, vomiting and diarrhea. Now, while I don't like barf or poop, it sure beats a trip to the emergency room (in an ambulance, because Mike had my car with my car seat last night). The last time we went to the emergency room, my bill was $560 for the ambulance, $500 for the ER, $450 to see the on-call ER doctor (who looked in Marshy's ears and said he had an ear infection and handed us a prescription). Forutnately we have good insurance, but it was like pulling teeth to get the ambulance company to stop billing me! I think they finally got the message because my insurance company paid them, and I haven't gotten a bill lately. ANYWAY, I digress....
No barf or poop at our house. Well, no out of the ordinary poop. Marshy is acting just fine. And, he is even asleep right now! I'm sure it is because he didn't get to go to bed until 10:30. We were working in Mike's parents yard, pulling weeds and such, and time got away from us. Yes, we pull weeds in dark. It's fun!
OH! And speaking of what to do if kids eat stuff......If your child happens to eat a Silica Gel packet, even though they say DO NOT EAT, don't worry! You don't have to call Poison Control, because they will just tell you that it is harmless. "Basically it is like eating sand" is what the guy told me. Yes, Marshy ate several packets last Christmas. And yes, I called Poison Control. If only I had known that it wouldn't hurt him, I wouldn't have had to go through all the hassel, and give them my info. Luckily, since it wasn't a dangerous chemical he ate, they haven't had to follow up or make visits and inspections, etc. {whew!} I sure wish I had Google then, or at least my computer. But, now I have Google. And I {heart} it so much!!
WELL! Luckily enough, Comet isn't that dangerous!! The sheet lists the symptoms that occur when ingested, and it says that "mild gastrointestinal irritation" may occur, along with naseua, vomiting and diarrhea. Now, while I don't like barf or poop, it sure beats a trip to the emergency room (in an ambulance, because Mike had my car with my car seat last night). The last time we went to the emergency room, my bill was $560 for the ambulance, $500 for the ER, $450 to see the on-call ER doctor (who looked in Marshy's ears and said he had an ear infection and handed us a prescription). Forutnately we have good insurance, but it was like pulling teeth to get the ambulance company to stop billing me! I think they finally got the message because my insurance company paid them, and I haven't gotten a bill lately. ANYWAY, I digress....
No barf or poop at our house. Well, no out of the ordinary poop. Marshy is acting just fine. And, he is even asleep right now! I'm sure it is because he didn't get to go to bed until 10:30. We were working in Mike's parents yard, pulling weeds and such, and time got away from us. Yes, we pull weeds in dark. It's fun!
OH! And speaking of what to do if kids eat stuff......If your child happens to eat a Silica Gel packet, even though they say DO NOT EAT, don't worry! You don't have to call Poison Control, because they will just tell you that it is harmless. "Basically it is like eating sand" is what the guy told me. Yes, Marshy ate several packets last Christmas. And yes, I called Poison Control. If only I had known that it wouldn't hurt him, I wouldn't have had to go through all the hassel, and give them my info. Luckily, since it wasn't a dangerous chemical he ate, they haven't had to follow up or make visits and inspections, etc. {whew!} I sure wish I had Google then, or at least my computer. But, now I have Google. And I {heart} it so much!!
Thursday, May 15, 2008
Make the screaming and the messes stop!!!
So, I know that my day has not been nearly as disastrous as Frister Jenny's day a few weeks ago (for more, read about it here), but it has been pretty bad.
It all started last night. Marshy-marsh wouldn't go to bed. In fact, it was around 4 AM before we actually got him to stop screaming. Then, this morning, he woke up earlier than normal after only sleeping for 4 or 5 hours. He was awake until around 2 PM. He took a quickie nap, lasting maybe an hour, 90 minutes tops. Then he was awake and grumpy. Bedtime is usually around 7 PM. I put him down aroung 6:30 because he hadn't slept very much today.
2 HOURS LATER: Marshy is still screaming at the top of his lungs. You'd think he'd get tired and give in and go to sleep. Don't worry. I'm not a bad mother. I didn't let him cry the whole two hours straight. I went in to check to make sure he wasn't poopy, or didn't have his foot stuck in the crib....again (yes, he's done it twice). Finally, tired of the screaming, I got him out and let him run around, hoping that maybe this would tire him out and he would go to bed. HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
It didn't work. I had the lights off in the kitchen and dining room, but the hall light was on, so I could still see where Marshy was. During the last 5 seconds of CSI's season finale (which I totally called, BTW, except for the other person involved - didn't see that one coming) my phone rang. Whilst trying to figure out why my phone wouldn't silence the call I heard a loud CRASH! BANG! Giggle! I hurried into the kitchen, where I thought Marshy was playing with the pots and pans (that's the cupboard he was in when I had looked at him a few seconds before). What I beheld upon walking around the counter was Marshy, covered head to toe in Comet. Comet all over the kitchen floor. Comet all over the front of my cupboards. And, as I hurriedly rushed baby into the bathtub, Comet all over my carpet.
FORTUNATELY he didn't put any in his mouth or his eyes. I don't know how he got the Comet out of the cupboard. I didn't even know it was open! I don't even use Comet! Why do I have some in my cupboard?? I use SoftScrub because it has a handy squeeze bottle with a flip top lid. Also, all of my cleaners are usually in the bathroom, or at least securely closed. WHAT THE HECK?! How did I miss the Comet??
Marshy is now in bed. His laundry is going. He is hopefully asleep (I can't hear him at least....the washer and A/C are quite loud when going at the same time). My kitchen is finally clean. I have washed off the bottom of my vacuum. But, my floor still smells like Comet. BOO!
At least the screaming has stopped....temporarily.
It all started last night. Marshy-marsh wouldn't go to bed. In fact, it was around 4 AM before we actually got him to stop screaming. Then, this morning, he woke up earlier than normal after only sleeping for 4 or 5 hours. He was awake until around 2 PM. He took a quickie nap, lasting maybe an hour, 90 minutes tops. Then he was awake and grumpy. Bedtime is usually around 7 PM. I put him down aroung 6:30 because he hadn't slept very much today.
2 HOURS LATER: Marshy is still screaming at the top of his lungs. You'd think he'd get tired and give in and go to sleep. Don't worry. I'm not a bad mother. I didn't let him cry the whole two hours straight. I went in to check to make sure he wasn't poopy, or didn't have his foot stuck in the crib....again (yes, he's done it twice). Finally, tired of the screaming, I got him out and let him run around, hoping that maybe this would tire him out and he would go to bed. HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
It didn't work. I had the lights off in the kitchen and dining room, but the hall light was on, so I could still see where Marshy was. During the last 5 seconds of CSI's season finale (which I totally called, BTW, except for the other person involved - didn't see that one coming) my phone rang. Whilst trying to figure out why my phone wouldn't silence the call I heard a loud CRASH! BANG! Giggle! I hurried into the kitchen, where I thought Marshy was playing with the pots and pans (that's the cupboard he was in when I had looked at him a few seconds before). What I beheld upon walking around the counter was Marshy, covered head to toe in Comet. Comet all over the kitchen floor. Comet all over the front of my cupboards. And, as I hurriedly rushed baby into the bathtub, Comet all over my carpet.
FORTUNATELY he didn't put any in his mouth or his eyes. I don't know how he got the Comet out of the cupboard. I didn't even know it was open! I don't even use Comet! Why do I have some in my cupboard?? I use SoftScrub because it has a handy squeeze bottle with a flip top lid. Also, all of my cleaners are usually in the bathroom, or at least securely closed. WHAT THE HECK?! How did I miss the Comet??
Marshy is now in bed. His laundry is going. He is hopefully asleep (I can't hear him at least....the washer and A/C are quite loud when going at the same time). My kitchen is finally clean. I have washed off the bottom of my vacuum. But, my floor still smells like Comet. BOO!
At least the screaming has stopped....temporarily.
Wednesday, May 14, 2008
Addiction
So, Apparently I have an addiction....to BLOGGING!! My friend Melanie had this quiz linked through one of her posts. So I decided to take it and see just how addicted I am. Oh yay! I'm totally addicted...well, 81% addicted. That is closer to 100% than to 50%, so I guess that means that it is a full blown addiction, right? haha Want to know how addicted you are? Just click the picture and take the quiz. It's only a few questions long....Go on. I dare you!
Finished and ready to quilt!
So the baby quilt I have been working on is finally done. I am so proud of myself, because it is an original design and I did it all by myself. From drawing out the original sketch to making the applique shapes to figuring out how much fabric I needed and how to cut the sashing pieces to be the right size. I was originally going to applique stars in all of the setting squares, but I decided against that today when I looked at how much yellow fabric I didn't have left. So, I will quilt the stars in instead. I've got to buy the backing and binding fabric tomorrow. Last summer I made a star baby quilt for my cousin, and I bought this really pretty dark navy fabric with sparkles...I hope they still sell it because it would be BEAUTIFUL as the backing for this quilt, which will have lots of stars quilted into it!
This is the center block. I started stitching it last night during Law and Order:SVU, but got too enthralled in the show so I stopped stitching and ended up focusing on the TV instead. I finished it today, while Judge Alex was on, and while Marshy-marsh ran around the house playing with his new toy (a Spongebob Squarepants bouncy ball I bought him at Wal-mart because he was mad it took the pharmacy 1 HOUR to get my simple prescription. Okay, so I was mad, but he was the one crying!) 
These next two blocks are actually patterned after my own hands and feet. No, I don't have a copy machine that will shrink images x percentage. I traced my hands and my feet, and then eyeballed it as I drew them smaller. It took several attempts, but I finally got some decent looking hands and feet, doncha think?
These two blocks I was actually able to start applique-ing during American Idol and Hells Kitchen. The feet were pretty easy, but the hands took a lot of work. I actually stopped working on the hands after HK and didn't pick them back up until later....much later because Still Standing was playing (11:35 and 12:05 is when it plays). It took a long time to do the fingers because I kept cutting my thread lenghts too short, so I would have to tie them off practically right after I had started. 1 episode of Hannah Montana, and halfway through The Replacements on the Disney Channel (about 1:15 AM) I decided to call it a night. But, not before the blocks were done! Yay for me!! :)
I know I've already put pictures of these blocks up, but I finished them off today. Mike told me that they needed to look more like building blocks, so I used my "applique" stitch on my Janome sewing machine (it's really just a zig-zag) to give the appearance of actually being blocks. I went over every line twice, just to make sure that it was well covered, and it was thick enough to look like the edging on the blocks. I'm going to put some more detail into it when I actually quilt it. It will look cool, you can count on that!I'm hoping to get it at least started on the quilt machine tomorrow. We'll see how the day goes. Maybe I'll just get it put into the quilting queue, but at least that gets it out of my kitchen and next to the machine! More pictures to come soon, hopefully!
Tuesday, May 13, 2008
What work was like today
This is how busy we were today....NOT. Well, we weren't until about 4 PM. Then everyone wanted flowers NOW or a wedding consultation or a delivery. Meanwhile, Bella (Angel's puppy) fell asleep next to my computer bag on one of the chairs. So precious!
While Bella was busy being a little angel, Marshy-marsh was very grumpy for no reason at all! I almost got my aunt's quilt all done, but I couldn't take the screaming and the crying, so we left. Little did I know that once we got home, the screaming and the crying would continue until about 10 minutes ago (8:45 PM). Yeah, not a happy afternoon with baby boy. Hopefully tomorrow will be better since we only have to run a few errands in the morning and then we will be home-bodies.
PUPPY!
Marhsy-marsh's favorite word is "puppy". Everything is a puppy: panda, tiger, puppy, Dad, leopard, you name it, he'll call it a puppy.
This morning we were watching Bindi the Jungle Girl on TLC. Bindi is the croc hunter's daughter, and her show is all about different kinds of animals. Marshy likes this show a lot. Today they were talking about a lot of different animals. The started with Pandas. "Puppy!" No, silly, Panda. "Puppy!" Then they talked about orangutans. "Puppy!" No, monkey. "Puppy!" Then they showed a baby leopard eating. "Puppy!" a wombat "Puppy!" Then they showed some rhinos. "oooo!' Yeah, he doesn't quite know what to make of rhinos. They don't look like the other furry animals he likes to call Puppy.
He does, however, know what a puppy looks like. Yesterday we were watching a train drive past the house, and a lady was walking her dog outside. He saw her and said "Puppy! Puppy!" so at least he knows one animal correctly!!
This morning we were watching Bindi the Jungle Girl on TLC. Bindi is the croc hunter's daughter, and her show is all about different kinds of animals. Marshy likes this show a lot. Today they were talking about a lot of different animals. The started with Pandas. "Puppy!" No, silly, Panda. "Puppy!" Then they talked about orangutans. "Puppy!" No, monkey. "Puppy!" Then they showed a baby leopard eating. "Puppy!" a wombat "Puppy!" Then they showed some rhinos. "oooo!' Yeah, he doesn't quite know what to make of rhinos. They don't look like the other furry animals he likes to call Puppy.
He does, however, know what a puppy looks like. Yesterday we were watching a train drive past the house, and a lady was walking her dog outside. He saw her and said "Puppy! Puppy!" so at least he knows one animal correctly!!
Monday, May 12, 2008
Quilt Block Progress
Over the past week or so I have been working on my baby quilt blocks. Here is the progress so far.
I did this rattle (above) and the bottle (below) last Tuesday during American Idol and Hell's Kitchen.
Then, this afternoon, I decided that I needed to stop procrastinating. While Marshy-marsh ran around asking "Where sa ball? Mama where sa ball?" and playing with his toys, I got the applique pieces cut out and fused to the block fabric.
I did the duckie during the Simpsons. It didn't take very long. Probably because I only needed to use three different colors of thread.
Then, during Bones (which was very good, and I can't wait until the Season Finale next week!!) I finished the bear block.
His eyes ended up a little smaller than I had envisioned, but have you noticed how a lot of stuffed animals sometimes have a lot smaller eyes?
I have a couple more blocks left to do. Three, to be exact. The major problem that I am running into is that I want to use Marshy-marsh's hands and feet as the template for two of the blocks, but he won't let me! I guess the pen tickles his hand when I try to trace it because I couldn't get him to sit still and stop laughing long enough to trace one finger!
I did this rattle (above) and the bottle (below) last Tuesday during American Idol and Hell's Kitchen.
Then, this afternoon, I decided that I needed to stop procrastinating. While Marshy-marsh ran around asking "Where sa ball? Mama where sa ball?" and playing with his toys, I got the applique pieces cut out and fused to the block fabric.
I did the duckie during the Simpsons. It didn't take very long. Probably because I only needed to use three different colors of thread.
Then, during Bones (which was very good, and I can't wait until the Season Finale next week!!) I finished the bear block. 
His eyes ended up a little smaller than I had envisioned, but have you noticed how a lot of stuffed animals sometimes have a lot smaller eyes?
I have a couple more blocks left to do. Three, to be exact. The major problem that I am running into is that I want to use Marshy-marsh's hands and feet as the template for two of the blocks, but he won't let me! I guess the pen tickles his hand when I try to trace it because I couldn't get him to sit still and stop laughing long enough to trace one finger! I bought the rest of my quilt top fabric today. It is so cute! I'm really excited. Now I just have to figure out exactly how wide I want the sashing and outer borders to be. I'm really excited at how well these blocks have come together. I was a little nervous at first. Probably because I hate wasting fabric and didn't want it to not turn out. Well, here's to hoping that everything else goes as well as it has so far!
Saturday, May 10, 2008
Celebrating Some Special Moms
Mother's Day is Sunday....well, by the time I finish this post it will probably be Sunday, so really that would make it today, wouldn't it? Anyway...Mother's Day has arrived and it is time to celebrate the fabulous and special mothers in our lives.
I have several moms I would like to celebrate today. They are all very special ladies, and I love them all very much. On the top of my list of mothers (in no special order whatsoever, as they are all very special women) are my 3 Moms.
The first one is my birth mother. You see, I am adopted. I never knew my birth mother. In fact, everything that I do know about her is contained in a small file folder. Mostly it's health history and ethnic background type stuff. And there was a letter. Even though I don't know her, I love her. I love her because she gave me life, and she loved me enough to give me to a family that would be able to love and care for me like she couldn't. That took so much courage, and love, and I am so thankful to her for that.
I have several moms I would like to celebrate today. They are all very special ladies, and I love them all very much. On the top of my list of mothers (in no special order whatsoever, as they are all very special women) are my 3 Moms.
The first one is my birth mother. You see, I am adopted. I never knew my birth mother. In fact, everything that I do know about her is contained in a small file folder. Mostly it's health history and ethnic background type stuff. And there was a letter. Even though I don't know her, I love her. I love her because she gave me life, and she loved me enough to give me to a family that would be able to love and care for me like she couldn't. That took so much courage, and love, and I am so thankful to her for that.
My second mother is my MOM!(pictured above.) She is great! We have our moments sometimes and fight, but I'm sure everyone does. She taught me how to sew....sort of. I actually ended up getting really frustrated, and she finished the project for me! But I did learn somethings as I stood and watched her finish it. She has been there for me through a lot of tough times: my first car accident, my wedding (not tough, but definitely important!), my first baby being born (no this doesn't mean I'm having another one. It just means that I plan on having more in the future! Don't read anything into it!! haha), and she will continue to be there for me when I need her to be there. I know she has a strong testimony of the Gospel, and she is a great example for me.
My third mother is my husband's MOM (picutred above)! She is also great! She taught me how to make a quilt top (yellow brick road pattern, and I use the quilt almost DAILY). She taught me how to do bouts at the floral shop. Plus, she did the toughest job of all: raising an awesome son who is an awesome father and dad. She is a great friend, and a great mom. We can't wait to see her again in a few weeks! She and Mike's dad have been serving and LDS mission and will finally be coming home!! She also is very firm in her faith and has a strong testimony of the Gospel. She is yet another great example for me.
I also have some really great Grandmas, but I don't have pictures of them. My grandmas are awesome ladies who are active in the Church and have strong faith and testimonies in the Gospel. When I get to be a Grandma, I want to be like them! My Grandma M. still does hand work (crocheting, mostly, I think) and my Grandma J. still lets us come over, even though we have a child who likes to run around causing mischief and mayhem. She doesn't even mind!! What wonderful ladies.
Then I have my awesome sisters-in-law: Angel, Diana, Amber and Lola. WOW! I could not have ever asked for better in-laws. HONESTLY! I know, some of you are probably saying "Oh, she's just saying that because they read her blog" but they really are AWESOME!! Lola has taught me so much about machine quilting and sewing techniques. Angel has given me some awesome cooking tips (which Mike thanks you for!). Diana so very kindly helps us with all of our tax questions, which are many, EVERY year. And Amber used to be my visiting teaching companion, and I miss visiting with her because she is so DANG FUNNY!
And of course I can't forget my niece who is only like a month or so younger than me (I know, so weird!) Lynsey. She is a great mom, and will soon have 3 under 3! Holy cow girlie! Lynsey makes me laugh, and we talk about pretty much everything. We even used to go walking together in an effort to lose weight, until she moved. And now I've gone and moved too, so maybe someday we'll get to be walking buddies again! Oh yeah! And we both tried Turbo Jam around the same time, too, only she stuck to it, whereas I did not. Lyns, you definitely have more will power than I do! I sure wish I could be like you and actually stick to something!!
I have learned many valuable lessons from each of these fabulous ladies on my list of Moms. I am thankful for each one of you, and everything you have taught me, and I cannot wait to see what next year brings all of us!
*toast* Here's to Wonderful Moms EVERYWHERE!! And Cheers to the special Moms in my life!
THANK YOU!
*NOTE: I know it seems like everytime I'm showing off a member of my family I post wedding pictures from several years ago, or pictures from when Baby really was a baby and not the giant TANK he is now....The reason being that they are the only pictures I have on my computer, and I currently don't have a working scanner. SORRY!
Friday, May 9, 2008
Raising Holy He...ck on Mother's Day weekend
So, I work at a floral with my in-laws: Angel, Diana, and Lola, and our Frister Jenny. It is WAY too much fun! Honestly. Where else can you have someone call you a bee-otch and not mean it in an offensive or mean way? Where else can you leave your child in his stroller in front of the TV watching The Incredibles by himself in the other room? This is where the raising Holy He...ck comes in to play.
One of Frister Jenny's clients from the salon came in with her little girl. She said, "You have got to see what this baby back here has gotten himself into."
Apparently her little girl had been watching Marshy-marsh maneuver his stroller backwards toward the ribbon racks. Can you guess what he did next? Well, here ya go:
I know that The Ninja hates it when I post "blurry" pictures from my camera phone, but I HAD TO! How cute is this?? He has unravelled SEVERAL rolls of ribbon, and is still busily unrolling another as we stared on. When he originally saw us all standing there laughing, he looked up and had this HUGE SMILE and then went merrily along with the unrolling. Yes, I cleaned it up. Yes, it was slightly a pain. Yes, he unrolled entire rolls. Yes, this was the least of the trouble he caused today.
I think my favorite was when he sneaked out onto the floor, and we couldn't find him and were calling him frantically, and then Angel found him and he was playing in the gazebo with some hanging baskets. Oh so fun. Or when he decided to run outside on the porch when they went to look at a client's motorcycle. Or just in general when he was causing terror.
Oh, yeah, and yesterday he was playing "mama had a baby and it's head popped off" with some of the flowers we had just gotten in. Oh so fun!
Oh, and I get to repeat it all again tomorrow! Hopefully I can keep my sanity!!!
One of Frister Jenny's clients from the salon came in with her little girl. She said, "You have got to see what this baby back here has gotten himself into."
Apparently her little girl had been watching Marshy-marsh maneuver his stroller backwards toward the ribbon racks. Can you guess what he did next? Well, here ya go:
I know that The Ninja hates it when I post "blurry" pictures from my camera phone, but I HAD TO! How cute is this?? He has unravelled SEVERAL rolls of ribbon, and is still busily unrolling another as we stared on. When he originally saw us all standing there laughing, he looked up and had this HUGE SMILE and then went merrily along with the unrolling. Yes, I cleaned it up. Yes, it was slightly a pain. Yes, he unrolled entire rolls. Yes, this was the least of the trouble he caused today.
I think my favorite was when he sneaked out onto the floor, and we couldn't find him and were calling him frantically, and then Angel found him and he was playing in the gazebo with some hanging baskets. Oh so fun. Or when he decided to run outside on the porch when they went to look at a client's motorcycle. Or just in general when he was causing terror.
Oh, yeah, and yesterday he was playing "mama had a baby and it's head popped off" with some of the flowers we had just gotten in. Oh so fun!
Oh, and I get to repeat it all again tomorrow! Hopefully I can keep my sanity!!!
Wednesday, May 7, 2008
Cute and Patient Boy
Marshy-marsh has been so patient with me these last few weeks while I try to get some sewing done. He is so cute to just sit and play in his high chair. Some of the toys he particularly likes is his stacking-block tractor, which he got for his birthday last year from Lola and fam, and his bracelets from McDonalds. Several months ago we bought him a happy meal and asked for the boy toy. Naturally, they gave us the girl toy. No matter! He loves to play with the bracelets. He pulls them apart and sticks them back together. Good thing he has something to occupy his time so well while I get in a little sewing here and there.Quilts finished and Quilts begun
So I have finally finished two of the three baby quilts that I was trying to hurry and send off. The first one I finished was for Chelsey. She had a baby girl in February.
This is the backing fabric I used. You can kind of see the quilting pattern I did, if you look closely.
I just barely finished binding it not 10 minutes ago. I used a really cute hot pink fabric with dragonflies all over it.
You can kind of see the dragonfly detail in this picture. 
This is the quilt back. It's kind of busy, and doesn't match exactly any of the other blues I used, but because I used so many different colors of blue, it still looks really cute.
This is a close up of the backing fabric. I just love this pattern!
And here is the binding. I finished it Monday night, but forgot to take it to work with me so I could ship it off yesterday. Fortunately I'm going to work tomorrow, so I can get it sent out then.
In other crafty projects, I've decided to see if I can maybe sell some quilts on Etsy. I had some really cute baby quilt ideas that I have been working on. I was going to enter one of them in a Fons and Porter baby quilt contest last year, but didn't get it done in time. In fact, I never really started it. However, I have decided to give it a whirl and see how it turns out. If it is good enough, then maybe I will sell it! Here is my progress so far.
Two of the blocks have little building blocks appliqued on them that spell out "baby". I'm not completely done with the blocks yet. I need to machine stitch some block lines on so that they look more like actually wooden building blocks.
I button hole stitched around the lettering. It turned out really a lot better than I had hoped. I have two more blocks waiting to be stitched, so hopefully I can get them done today. Fortunately I have plenty of work to keep me busy while I watch my Harry Potter HD DVD marathon this week! More progress photos to come, so keep checking back!
This is the backing fabric I used. You can kind of see the quilting pattern I did, if you look closely. 
I just barely finished binding it not 10 minutes ago. I used a really cute hot pink fabric with dragonflies all over it.
You can kind of see the dragonfly detail in this picture.The second quilt I finished was for my friend Taylor. She is having a baby boy in June, and her baby shower was on Sunday. Since I was unable to attend, due to Mom's birthday party in Big City, I wanted to hurry and get her quilt sent to her as closely to the party date as I could.
This is the quilt back. It's kind of busy, and doesn't match exactly any of the other blues I used, but because I used so many different colors of blue, it still looks really cute.
This is a close up of the backing fabric. I just love this pattern!
And here is the binding. I finished it Monday night, but forgot to take it to work with me so I could ship it off yesterday. Fortunately I'm going to work tomorrow, so I can get it sent out then.In other crafty projects, I've decided to see if I can maybe sell some quilts on Etsy. I had some really cute baby quilt ideas that I have been working on. I was going to enter one of them in a Fons and Porter baby quilt contest last year, but didn't get it done in time. In fact, I never really started it. However, I have decided to give it a whirl and see how it turns out. If it is good enough, then maybe I will sell it! Here is my progress so far.
Two of the blocks have little building blocks appliqued on them that spell out "baby". I'm not completely done with the blocks yet. I need to machine stitch some block lines on so that they look more like actually wooden building blocks.
I button hole stitched around the lettering. It turned out really a lot better than I had hoped. I have two more blocks waiting to be stitched, so hopefully I can get them done today. Fortunately I have plenty of work to keep me busy while I watch my Harry Potter HD DVD marathon this week! More progress photos to come, so keep checking back!Tuesday, May 6, 2008
Grrr.....Neighbors!!!
We live in an "apartment" building. Really, they're marketed as condos, but there are three floors with 4 "condos" to a floor. We live on the top floor. It's actually fairly nice. Well, we thought it was okay until Friday night, and then again this afternoon.
The Utah Jazz were playing in the playoffs. Apparently our next door neighbors are HUGE fans. How do we know this, you ask? Well, by the string of profanities that we could hear through the walls when the Jazz lost their lead. Mike and I had no idea what was going on. For a few minutes we thought we were going to have to call the police for a Domestic Violence call or something. Then we checked the local listings, and discovered the game was playing on ESPN. It was only 9:30, and noise "curfew" on weekends is midnight, so we figured we'd deal with it. It eventually calmed down next door. We didn't mind waiting to see what was going to happen before we went over and asked them to keep it down. In fact, there wasn't another outburst out of them all night.
This afternoon Marshy-marsh and I got home from work. He'd been cooped up in his stroller all afternoon watching movies and napping, so he was super excited to get out and run around with all of his toys. Well, about 20 minutes after we got home (it is around 6 PM at this point) there was a knock on our door. I opened the door to find a man I had never seen before standing there, dressed in his business attire with his bluetooth headset on his ear. I remember thinking to myself "Wow, did I look that nerdy when I wore my bluetooth? No, cuz I'm hot!" haha Anyway, the conversation went something like this:
him: Hi, I'm your neighbor downstairs below you, and when your kid walks around your house it is really loud.
me: Oh, I'm sorry?
him: Well, because it's really loud, could you keep him from making all that noise from walking?
me: Well, he's really little. (Marshy-marsh comes running down the hall "mamammama" See? He is really little.
him: Well could you just keep him from running? Thanks.
me: Sorry, I didn't know it was so loud. He's really little.
And with that, I closed the door. Now, noise curfew on a weekday is 10 PM. It was maybe barely 6 PM, and pretty sure that Marshy is NOT that loud. Then, when I looked out the window, I noticed that their second car had just pulled up with the rest of the inhabitants in it. Stupid neighbor was down there by himself and just HAD to come up and complain! Heaven forbid he should wait a little and see if the so-called 'noise' would subside after a while. We hadn't even been home all day!
The train just drove past and honked. Honestly, if you can put up with a train, can't you put up with a little running from the kid upstairs? I'm sure they'll be back up because there is no way that I am not going to let my little baby play in his room with his toys. What does he want me to do? Keep him restrained off the floor at all times? He's 18 months old! You just can't do that 24-7.
Anyway, that's my rant. I guess that not everyone is as tolerant as we are. Just wishing that more people were more tolerant.
The Utah Jazz were playing in the playoffs. Apparently our next door neighbors are HUGE fans. How do we know this, you ask? Well, by the string of profanities that we could hear through the walls when the Jazz lost their lead. Mike and I had no idea what was going on. For a few minutes we thought we were going to have to call the police for a Domestic Violence call or something. Then we checked the local listings, and discovered the game was playing on ESPN. It was only 9:30, and noise "curfew" on weekends is midnight, so we figured we'd deal with it. It eventually calmed down next door. We didn't mind waiting to see what was going to happen before we went over and asked them to keep it down. In fact, there wasn't another outburst out of them all night.
This afternoon Marshy-marsh and I got home from work. He'd been cooped up in his stroller all afternoon watching movies and napping, so he was super excited to get out and run around with all of his toys. Well, about 20 minutes after we got home (it is around 6 PM at this point) there was a knock on our door. I opened the door to find a man I had never seen before standing there, dressed in his business attire with his bluetooth headset on his ear. I remember thinking to myself "Wow, did I look that nerdy when I wore my bluetooth? No, cuz I'm hot!" haha Anyway, the conversation went something like this:
him: Hi, I'm your neighbor downstairs below you, and when your kid walks around your house it is really loud.
me: Oh, I'm sorry?
him: Well, because it's really loud, could you keep him from making all that noise from walking?
me: Well, he's really little. (Marshy-marsh comes running down the hall "mamammama" See? He is really little.
him: Well could you just keep him from running? Thanks.
me: Sorry, I didn't know it was so loud. He's really little.
And with that, I closed the door. Now, noise curfew on a weekday is 10 PM. It was maybe barely 6 PM, and pretty sure that Marshy is NOT that loud. Then, when I looked out the window, I noticed that their second car had just pulled up with the rest of the inhabitants in it. Stupid neighbor was down there by himself and just HAD to come up and complain! Heaven forbid he should wait a little and see if the so-called 'noise' would subside after a while. We hadn't even been home all day!
The train just drove past and honked. Honestly, if you can put up with a train, can't you put up with a little running from the kid upstairs? I'm sure they'll be back up because there is no way that I am not going to let my little baby play in his room with his toys. What does he want me to do? Keep him restrained off the floor at all times? He's 18 months old! You just can't do that 24-7.
Anyway, that's my rant. I guess that not everyone is as tolerant as we are. Just wishing that more people were more tolerant.
Monday, May 5, 2008
Yay for Springtime at the ZOO!
So, you have to look really hard at the picture, but you can see the Amur Tiger! Now that it is springtime, they have started doing their shows at the zoo! We only went to the Asian Highlands cat show yesterday, because Marshy-marsh has a hard time sitting still. It was fun though, to see them train with the Tiger. Marshy kept calling it puppy. And then we would say "No, kitty" "Puppy!" "No, Kitty!" He finally started calling it Kitty.
They also had their Pachyderm (elephant) program, and their birdshow which is featuring some new birds this year. It was really hot and baby was getting tired, so we didn't stick around for those shows.
The Conservation Carousel will be opening next month, too, so we are pretty excited. The opening date has been delayed a while due to the CRAZY weather we've been having lately. Hopefully it will be really nice so that they can hurry and get it done!
Friday, May 2, 2008
Quilting and other projects
This is the finished quilt for our friend Chelsey. I put it on the Gamill and got it totally quilted today. I used a light purple thread, and quilted big daisy flowers in the nine patch blocks, and did a loop pattern in the cut-apart nine patch blocks. It turned out really cute.
On Thursday I put on the quilt for my friend Taylor. She is due in June, but her baby shower is on Sunday. I can't go, because it's my mom's birthday, but I figured I still ought to try to get the quilt to her shortly after her shower. I really wasn't sure if I liked how the quilt turned out until I got it quilted. Now I am really happy with it, and I think it looks great!
I did a meander throughout the blocks, using light blue thread.
Then throughout the borders, I did a really tight loop pattern. Yeah, I know, I know. I swore that I was NEVER going to do tiny loops again, but apparently I forgot. It still turned out really cute!
Tuesday I'm going to try and get the quilt for my aunt's baby all done. Then hopefully I can focus on getting all of the quilts bound and finished and shipped off to their recipients.Then it's off to the next project or two or three! I have so many ideas running through my head right now, that it makes it hard to sleep sometimes! Has anyone else had that? It is totally driving me crazy!! I really need to start writing all of my ideas down so that I don't forget something!
Among the projects is a bedroom set for Marshy-marsh. Ideally I would like to make matching bedding for the Disney's Cars quilt I'm going to make for him...eventually! Also, I am working on several quilts to sell on etsy eventually. And I have some other quilts I need to quilt and bind so I can either sell them on etsy....maybe. We'll see if I can let them go! haha I will definitely keep ya'all posted!
Thursday, May 1, 2008
Ebay!
No, no, no. I didn't go to ebay live this year....well, it's not until later, but it's in Chicago and I can't afford flights let alone hotel and food. Plus, what is there to do in Chicago besides go to the convention? No ebay live for me this year! These pictures are from 2006. Ebay Live in Las Vegas BABY!You might be asking why I chose to post pictures from so long ago. You see, it is because I have been spending EVERY WAKING HOUR listing things on ebay in preparation for Mother's Day, Memorial Day, Father's Day, and Independence Day. Yes. Many holiDAYS. Ugh! But, listing does have its advantages. It reminds me of all of the fun that two pregnant women and a man had in Vegas BABY!
My head in a cardboard cutout. Not quite sure why they had these, but yeah....That's me. You can't really tell, but it is. I like this picture because the cardboard hides my fatness. Yes, I was pregnant, but I was still fat and therefore did not photograph well when there was no cardboard person to hide my body.
This happy lad is Mike. Again, what's with the cardboard cutout people?
And this is Ninja Lola! Hiy-ya! She will ninja chop you in half she will!
Aaah....so many memories. Not all of them good. Actually, most of them not good. It isn't fun going to a convention when you are pregnant and still have severe morning sickness and have to barf up your breakfast in a public restroom....while other women ask "Are you okay sweetie?" or "Do we need to get someone for you?" or "Do you need any help?" (that was my personal fave....yes, I would like some help getting rid of my breakfast! Thanks for asking!)
Or eating lunch at Jimmy Buffett's Margaritaville........and ending up running down the hall to your hotel room, door key in hand, yelling something that I won't write here (due to choice wordage used) back at your roomie Lola and your husband Mike.
I think my favorite memory of the whole trip though was Mike initially finding out, after we had reserved the hotel room and bought the convention tickets, that he would be attending with two Preggo's. HAHAHAHAHA!
Ooh! Or squishing Lola into the back seat of the Saturn that doesn't lock into place all the way, with all of our luggage (it's a 2-door car, by the way). Sorry Lola! I still feel bad about that! But at least I am short and you had some legroom behind my chair! :)
Anyway, just thought I would reminisce a little about past ebay experiences.....while I curse my current ones. Well, off to do more listing! Lots to do, not a whole lotta time to do it in! Check out my ebay store if you don't believe me. No! I'm serious! Go there NOW! hehehe:)
MOTHER'S DAY IS MAY 11TH!
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