no purpose but to look

just because i love these kids.

Made in the USA

***The hooks homemade...not the jewelry.***

Supplies bought in West Virginia with Andrea

Painted and assembled in Kentucky with Jordan

Finally hung up in Utah with Ellie

surviving the CUTEST diva in training

Heaven help me!!!!

 

I have THE cutest, most determined, stubborn, sassy, angel/devil 2 year old who insists on wearing her swim suit every single day!  This morning, I went to the bathroom.  Meanwhile, Ellie found her suit, got in the garage (with the help of a 4 year old accomplice), opened the garage, pulled out the swim pools, and was ready to splash...all before I had a chance to flush!

She also loves to take her unders off during nap quiet time because she pees in her pull-up.  She poops in her underwear during play time and takes off her unders to dump the poop in the toilet ALL BY HERSELF.  Helpful child, she is!

Heaven help me!

Or at least give me super human powers.

And remind me not to say "flippin' shower" because Ellie will then request to "get in the flippin' shower".

I have to say, though, she is really quite helpful with the laundry.  She loves to gather her clothes, and Dallin's, after they have been folded and put them away in the drawers.

googly monster

Googly Monster.

I finally set up my sewing machine and had to see if it still worked after the move for insurance purposes.  Unfortunately, it does.  

I will say this:  I have the cheapest, crappiest machine out there.  

I will say this:  To send it some positive vibes, it has been a champ as far a straight lines go.

(Anyone want to advise me on the best sewing machine under $200???)

Back to Googly Monster.

Dallin asks about 1 billion questions....what are you doing/sewing/why/what is a pattern/what is this string/can I make a pattern????????????

I fugure the best way to answer all his questions was to let him help me make something.

We drew a pattern and cut it out, pinned (complete with blood), sewed, stuffed.

He watched me sew and heard me cuss at my sewing machine (I kept it rated PG).

Dallin (complete with tool belt) has a new best friend.

He is currently sleeping next to Googly Monster because he is afraid of the dark, too.

Preschool Graduate!

{Dallin, Miss Gia??, Miss Andrea, Miss Shay}

Dallin graduated from preschool today! 

This is such a huge milestone (for me, at least) because I feel like this little guy has been in preschool for a long long time!  We were sad to leave Dallin's amazing teacher in Kentucky, but we were lucky (super lucky) enough to get him in Miss Andrea's class for three months while we were living with my parents.
The best part?  While we still have some minor concerns, Dallin does not qualify for speech or OT (just OT consult, which I won't explain).  This is a GOOD thing!  We are so proud of all the hard work that Dallin has put into learning how to talk and we are so grateful for all the wonderful people that have been put in our path to help perform miracles on this kid!
 

With all this preschool talk, I can't help but have this song stuck in my head:

oh! do either of you play the organ?

That is what we were asked when we told a neighbor that we were bringing this puppy home.

 

Paul and I are now the lucky caretakers of Grandpa Castleton's organ.

None of us play, but hopefully, one day, our children will........play more than the earsplitting beautiful music that they know right now.

We are so happy it is here and hope that Grandpa Castleton will send some of his amazing musical talent from heaven!

The Challenge

Nothing new.  Nothing "thrift shop" new.  Nothing craft new.To make a dent in the mountain of stuff that I just unpacked, of course.

Except paint.  In our moving "rules", the moving company stated that they would not ship anything flammable.  Sadly, I gave all my paint away.  Bye bye spray paint, and all the little sample sized colors.  Bye bye.

Ironically, the movers packed the propane tanks that come with our mini camp stove.

Should have kept my paint!

ignoring the dishes

a messy house for a day is sometimes just what i need to get my creative fix

in other words, i didn't clean all day, i just made more messes

1. balloons, twine, flour, water (next time I'll try liquid starch)

2. candle sticks, thrifted plates, spray paint, E6000 glue

3. thrifted candlesticks and glass plate, E6000 glue

4. stolen nerf ball (don't tell Dallin), hot glue, twine

now, where to put it.

where to put anything???

any interior designers want to come put my house together?

WHAT is THAT!?!?!

asks Paul when he got home from work yesterday.

Just a raisin.

Phew!

one down... a lot more to go

I finished my first Knock-off Wood project!

It was a lot of fun to make and Paul loved having me in the shop with him.

For years, he has wanted me to come out and watch him work...which was a bit boring...but now that I can get in there and work along side him...not so boring after all!

He only helped a tiny bit (he cut the angle pieces, the hardest part).

Now, to decide what to build next???

The Sweet Dress

Remember this pattern that I love so much?

At Brown Paper Packages, this go to pattern has been made over 44 times.

That is 44 reasons why I need to get my sewing machine set up fast!

Creative juice overload!

hand prints

(the only picture I got of my kids in their Easter clothes)

My kids have a fascination with these hand prints that are part of my parents driveway.

It makes me want to add cement to mine, just so we can mark our territory.

big booty

nap time often days, turns into "just stay in your bedroom" time

which then turns into "unload all the drawers and play dress up" time

which can also turn into "unload the book shelves" time

and "throw your toys every which way" time

it's always entertaining to see the end result of "quiet" time

today, it was books all over

as well as her layered ensemble:

shirt

dress

skirt

tutu

papa and the tractor

(we're working on the smile...)

party music

20 minute drive from orem to spanish fork
20 minutes of dallin providing party music
think real loud party beat, replace with
da da daddy daddy da da daddy daddy
ma ma mommy mommy ma ma mommy mommy

for 20 minutes straight
i-15 has never sounded so....unique
for 5 minutes it was cute
i accidently pushed my mommy-mute button
daddy didn't come with one
ellie didn't want one, she joined in a little


-------------------------------------

saturdays are supposed to be for sleeping in
when you have a not-so-little one
who sneaks in your bed in the middle of the night
who kicks you in the back from the hours of 5 to 7
you don't get to sleep in on a saturday morning

daddy with his ipod and head phones laying in bed
dallin in the middle spread eagle
mommy on the end with no pillow
"daddy, what are you doing?"
"listening to my ipod."

"i wish that i could put my party music on your ipod!"

yummy times

no pictures of the night...can't let the anyone know that we (I) are crazy and take pictures of food....yet.
we just got back from our next door neighbors house where we feasted on Mexican food galore.
oooh, it was divine....tasty, tasty.
it's been fun getting to know everyone.
we feel blessed to be here.

Easter 2010

It's been a good long while since we have been in Utah for Easter.  The kids had a great time with their Easter Bunny surprises and had even more fun running around with cousins hunting for eggs.

Paul told the kids about the Resurrection on Easter.  A couple days later, Dallin started asking me question after question about his great Grandpa Breseman, who died in early 2002, coming back to life.  I wish I could remember the whole conversation, it was so cute and thoughtful.