The Exhuasting Business of Busyness

We've been having words with this one lately, due to extreme messiness. She's is like a whirlwind, leaving a path of destruction wherever she goes! She removes couch pillows in the living room and then brings her entire entourage of animals and blankets and dolls and cups and jewelry and dress-up clothes and keyboard and books and toys out to conglomerate in the front room. Then she moves on to the bedroom, strewing clothes and pajamas all over the floor and her bed, not to mention Barbies and clothes and books and toys. Then it's the kitchen table with cut-up paper scraps and coloring books and markers and crayons and stickers and snack bowls. Then the baby's room with all the dress-up clothes thrown helter-skelter all around! I simply cannot keep up with her! Bending over, picking up things is just not in the agenda this far along in the pregnancy, so we have a lot of discussions about cleaning before moving on to other things, but I feel like I'm losing my mind reminding her all the time. I've even thrown all of her things into garbage bags to do time-out in the garage. It doesn't sink in. She declares that she "just loves to have a messy room." So, I give up. She can have a messy room- as long as it stays on her side since she is sharing with the boys. Maybe if it gets bad enough that she can't sleep, she'll pick it up. Maybe not. I dunno... Or maybe we'll get our very own resident rodents. Either way, she is very non-messy when she is sleeping, and oh-so non-sassy.


Here's another sassy one. Really, where do they get it? I mean, Doug and I are so very sweet and demure... Okay, okay! I know where they get it- it's all Doug. :) But, really? A booty-shot from my three-year-old??


He's also decided that when the cat's away, the mouse will play. The PS3, that is. Once I put Evie on that bus for Kindergarten, he immediately asks to play "PF-fwee." It's been a good time for him to polish his tiny little hand-eye skills. It doesn't take long for him to get frustrated and want to do something else, though, which is good.


He also loves to play "my game." One morning I came in to find that he had turned on the computer, found the internet button and then found his Curious George bookmark in the browser window. I'm pretty sure my Grandma can't do that! Sorry, Grams, but it's true...


He's also still at the age when cleaning is fun. And a good thing, too! He dumped an entire box of Cheerios on the floor.


Meanwhile, I have been a sewing fool. Since I have made a blanket for all the kids (except Evie, poor dear), I was naturally going to make something for the new baby. I happened upon this tutorial for a monogram quilt quite by chance and fell in love with it. It took me longer than I'd like to admit to complete. I did some procrastinating before and during with other projects, mostly near the end when I tried an online tutorial for "perfect" mitered corners only to find out that it was for smaller binding and the corners ended up rounded and funky. I had to cool down for a week or so, and after some good advice from a quilting friend, ended up picking and cutting out the corners and re-doing them. It also took some time to do the free-hand stippling with the sewing machine, but I think the results were well-worth the time and effort. I very love it.

...Oh. Did I mention we picked a new name for Le Petit? We did. Apparently "Amen" Church was too much. He will henceforth be called baby Elam. Unless we change our minds again. In which case, Doug has declared we will simple cross off the incorrect name on the quilt with a Sharpie and write in the new one.


I made one of these babies so we can keep the rain and cold off of him and keep away touchy people. I really wish we'd had one of these with the other three.


It is reversible. One side for the boy and one side for the Mommy. Okay, they're both for Mommy... I really think sewing while pregnant has it's drawbacks- I am half-demented. I had that whole issue with the monogram quilt binding and then I sewed and double sewed the tabs on this canopy backwards, so the flowers side is up on the zig-zag side and vice versa. I wasn't about to pick it out and sew it on right, so I'm just going to declare now that since it is reversible and coordinating, I meant to do that! Alrighty?


I bought an inexpensive serger on craigslist a few years ago and I think it had been dropped. My mom and I couldn't get it to sew without it cutting the thread and the front door hinge was bent. I finally took it in to get serviced this summer because it really is indispensable for some sewing projects. The timing is fantastic now! The tech noted that he couldn't find a replacement hinge for it, so it was still crooked. I took a hammer to it the other night and now it works great! Some things just need brute force applied...
The serger was extremely useful in making these swaddling cloths. It would have been extremely annoying and time-consuming to make a hem. It was a little scary, frankly, because the foot-control is very touchy and the cutting blade imminently close to my fingers, but we survived with all digits in-tact and maybe a missing finger would be worth the convenience...? I did these two Christmas-themed ones in flannel. There must be something about the grumpy Grinch that I relate with- I find him so amusing.




These three swaddling cloths are modeled after the way-overpriced Aden + Anais ones. Granted, they are not printed, but I could choose any color I wanted and they were super-easy and cheap!


I tried a diaper burp-cloth, but found it a little unappealing for some reason. Maybe I'll try again later.


So I made one of these burp-cloths with some left-over fabric. The edge frays after you wash it so it will look a little cuter later.


Meanwhile, our tomatoes came on with a vengeance. I didn't feel like doing the whole canning thing this year, being so very large-with-child and all, so I cut them up and threw them in the dehydrator to make sun-dried tomatoes and in the oven (with fresh herbs, garlic, and olive oil) to make roasted tomatoes which I then put in Ziplocs in the freezer for making sauces this winter. The house smelled so delicious... I was able to get rid of most of them this way, which was delightful and easy!






Doug was evil and made my favorite cookies on Sunday. He insisted it was a labor of love for me, but I just don't see how that can be when he knows I shouldn't eat them! I had two right out of the oven and four more the next day. So much for self-control!


Ha! I love this! What a poser-baby!


These are simply the very best Snickerdoodles I have EVER had! Perfectly soft and chewy all at once. Doug did his job too well! We added some vanilla to the recipe and added some nutmeg and cloves to the cinnamon/sugar mixture and I think that helped seal my doom.


Hylton had another week of preschool. We learned about Sea Animals today and the kids got to search for seashells in the barley. Yeah, I know- not sand- but it is easier to clean up and they didn't care a bit!


And then he passed out while I was writing this blog, so I went and laid down too. All this busyness is just exhausting!

Kindergarten, Preschool, and MORE Birthdays

Hylton had his first day of preschool yesterday. I forgot to take pictures before preschool, or during, but I finally remembered sometime during the afternoon after things had settled down. He is such a poser. Doug and I always crack up when we upload pictures to the computer and see all of his silly faces. What is this last one...?! He thinks he's modeling for GQ or something!
Preschool was at our house yesterday (as it will be for the next 5 weeks to get it all done before baby comes) and he has been asking me every half an hour for a week straight, "when is it time for his preschool to start?" He loved having his friends come to his house!


I also took a terrible picture for Evie's first day, so I finally took a nicer picture of her yesterday waiting for the bus. She gets a bus-ride to school even though we live so close, but she gets to walk home with Sterling after school. There is a rather large group that walks this year, which is really reassuring. Last year there were three of them and I think I counted at least 7 this year.

Evie ADORES Kindergarten! She didn't cry when I left her at her desk the first day, which I was very much expecting since she's suddenly been crying having hysterics when we leave her in primary class on Sundays, but she just told me she loved me before I left and she did great. I was even expecting a mid-day call from the school to have me come pick her inconsolable 5-year-old self up, but that didn't happen either, much to my relief.

Hylton and I have been having little adventures (meaning doctor's appts. and grocery shopping) together during that three-hour break and it has been heavenly. Hylton considers himself the Big Boy when he's alone and is capable of such astonishingly good behavior that it is a hard adjustment for both of us, I think, when the other two get home from school and he becomes the little brother again.


Evie has been experimenting with accessories and came up with this hair-bow concoction yesterday. She was so proud of her stylin' efforts! I think there must be 10 hair clips in there... Her being so girly is something I was not expecting from a daughter of mine, and it can be a really hard internal struggle for me when she wants to pick out pink, ruffly, fru-fru things, but I am truly grateful for her individuality and that she likes to make herself look pretty.


Oh my goodness, I want to eat them up, I love them so!


Sterling turned 7 yesterday. After preschool was over, Hylton and I switched gears and cleaned up everything and brought out the decorations, baked cupcakes, and made some Sackperson cupcake toppers. We waited until we saw the kids walking home and then we hid in the living room and surprised Sterling. These are things he loves the best! He LOVED the cupcakes. He had a great time looking at all of them before deciding exactly which one he wanted to eat.


As a side-note about Sterling's birthday, I have to document this story: I got an email from a friend yesterday explaining that her daughter was insisting that tomorrow was Sterling's birthday and that she had been invited to his party, but wasn't sure were his (handwritten, mind you) invitation had gone to get the details and she hadn't been able to read the writing anyway. So my friend was wondering when this party was... It turns out Sterling (along with verbally inviting anyone he ever knew to his "Birthday Party" all year long) had also written invitations and given them to every kid in his primary class. So along with his one friend who alerted us, another friend had already bought and wrapped a gift for him and was planning to come (and who knows who else)! I was so embarrassed! A little amused at his sneakiness and resourcefulness, but embarrassed, nonetheless. We had a little talk about when it's appropriate to send out invitations or invite people over (um, like when Mom knows about it, for one thing).

This year, Doug and I have decided not to do friend parties or even large family parties every year. There will just be too many kid birthdays in our family for that (July, August, September and then October or November for the baby), I would go crazy! So sadly, he was totally expecting a party and didn't get one, except with us last night. But, as a friend posted on Facebook today, which I heartily agree with:

"Two important things to teach a child: to do and to do without."
-Marcelene Cox

This is a fantastic life-lesson for Sterling and I'm glad for these opportunities. Our kids have much more than I ever did growing up and I think it is so healthy for them to experience and learn to manage a little disappointment.


It was his idea to pose like this. I have to chuckle, inwardly of course, each time they express their character through preferences. It's gratifying to watch them get bigger and have their own opinions and creative desires.




Sackperson helped him blow out his birthday candles, of course.




Silly Mister... Doug and I have decided that this is his Grandpa Dewey face.


Licking all the frosting off first!


Ease-up on the sugar, Little Man.


Daddy is gettin' DOWN on that cupcake! Since I had one of the smaller ones, I had to count the carbs for my charting. Over 20g in just one tiny one! We weren't terribly surprised, then, when they were freaking out for the rest of the night- they probably had 40-60g per cupcake! And that was with homemade frosting without all the high fructose corn syrup and only half of the sugar called-for.


A kicking fight ensued and it was all fun-and-games until someone cried.


Sterling really wanted more Sackpeople for his birthday. He might be a little obsessed. So he got Arr the Pirate and Caesar the Roman.


Doug and I found a great deal on a battle dragon for Bakugans, too, and he just loves it! He had other small Bakugans fighters that he somehow collected from friends at school last year (I probably don't want to know what toys he traded for these and/or conned out of less experienced negotiators). He was so grateful when he was going to bed last night and told Doug and I very sincerely that it was a great birthday and that he just loves all of his toys. Doug and I try very hard to teach the children gratitude, and it sometimes seems like it's never going to pay off, until suddenly it does and it feels like we've been doing at least something right for our poor, first, guinea-pig child!

And, I had to upload pictures from my phone today, which I so rarely use that I found these cute little ones that I had to post!

Evany at Krispy Kreme for her Halloween preschool field trip, Oct. 29th, 2009, dressed up as a kitty.





Hylton using the car on the patio full of kitchen-remodel debris, Nov 2009.


Outlet mall, Feb 2011

Aquarium

Saturday morning, we decided to leave the last two days of soaring valley heat behind and retreat to the coast. Doug and I are planners, so it was a little liberating to just pack up and go with little thought before-hand. We had purchased a Groupon for the Aquarium earlier this summer and it expires in a couple of weeks, so we thought we'd better put the house projects on hold for a day and go use it. Instead of making the almost 6 hour round-trip in a day, like we had originally planned, we booked a last-minute room and headed out.


It was incredibly gorgeous at the beach when we arrived (and much cooler than 95°), so we immediately took the kids down to the beach to let them run off their wiggles from the car ride. Evie wanted to fly the kite, so Dad helped her get it set up and she did pretty well.








The boys just wanted to run and slide down the dunes and find treasures.


Hylton thought it was especially fun to makes trails in the sand with seaweed.




There are four little people down on the right that belong to me. Doug was able to let the kite string out all the way at one point... until it all crashed. I think it brought out his inner boy. He spent quite a while playing with it until Hylton fell in a rivulet and a lady carried him through the water to me, and then Sterling and Evie ran off into the waves and Doug had to run after them before they got swept out. It was actually quite terrifying. They were duly chastised and we decided to call it a day after that.


We drove through downtown Newport in search of dinner. The sunset on the bay was so pretty to see.


After parking, we heard the growls of sea lions, so we walked across the road to the pier and found the Sea Lion Disentanglement Cage where the sea lions can recover after being caught in fishing nets.








I'm not exactly sure why we chose a pub for our dinner, except that it looked like the cleanest place we could see. Our waitress was really grumpy and we waited for quite a while. We were all starving!


Doug and Sterling thought it would be funny if Sackperson sampled the local ale. Boys!


Little Miss Sassy and Daddy. He was appalled to find that my purse was on the floor, so he held it in his lap for the rest of dinner. I asked him if he wanted to sanitize the bottom of it with hand sanitizer- I'm kind of surprised he refused.


After a crazy night where we went to bed late with three kids in one bed and Doug and I in the other (and Doug feeling nauseous), and then ended up with Hylton between for the rest of the night (I don't know how Evie and Sterling scored that victory) with his tiny little feet wedged into my back, we checked-out of the room and went to breakfast.


Evie LOVED her strawberry crêpes and, after licking all the whipped cream off the top, ate them all up before we knew it.




The sea lions were being fed right after we arrived at the Aquarium, so we went and found a good viewing spot. The trainers had them do all sorts of tricks and jumps off the rocks and it may have been the best part of the Aquarium (except maybe the actual underwater aquarium).








It was fun to go adventuring, but it's never relaxing with kids. I came home way more tired than when we left- we were all in bed by 8pm last night! It was probably good to go do something fun before the baby comes, though.