Steven has decided to embark on being a green thumb this summer and so he has started a garden in our backyard. His dad had some great tips and we were able to put one in without too much labor or cost since we don't know if we'll be around next summer and didn't want to invest much into it. So he laid down some extra weed barrier fabric that we had, cut holes for where the plants will go, and dug out the old dirt and filled it with better soil. It's looking pretty good and I'm impressed with him for all the work he's put into it. I mostly just sat and watched. Nadia was pretty into it though and goes out with Steve every time he's working on it.
That's one dirty little girl Rowan was about as interested as I was in the physical labor. Classic Steve pose. He's almost finished here. Later on he added some large planters with strawberries against the fence. Way to go hun. Hopefully we'll get some success with something here. There's pumpkin, watermelon, cantaloupe, corn, tomatoes, peppers, strawberries and probably some other things I've missed.
I swore off babysitting other people's kids for money after we moved away from Illinois. Too many bad experiences and some hard feelings that took a while to let go of. After being in South Carolina for a year, I guess I'm ready to get back on the babysitting bandwagon. At least until our impending arrival decides to show up. I've been watching a neighbor's kids Wednesday through Friday after school until about 6:30pm and it really has been a great experience. The kids are well behaved and the parents pay me on time and without hassle. It's an ideal scenario and my kids love having these guys come over. Nadia loves the older girl, Rebecca, and follows her around everywhere. Josh is in kindergarten too and Rowan and he could play Legos until the cows come home.
Helping me refill my flour container after making cookies. It got a little messy, but they had so much fun doing it. 8 year old girls rock!! I love my playset. I know it was horrible to transport, fix up and put it in, but I don't regret it for a second. That thing gets used daily!
A few Easters back, my kids got some beanie babies that I picked up at a garage sale the day before. Little did I know how loved these animals would become. Their guts have had to be sewn back together time and time again, especially Rowan's dog when he developed a habit of chewing on it. Nadia doesn't want to sleep without hers and takes it everywhere we go. We've made it through many trips and hotel stays without losing them, but eventually our luck ran out and they both got lost. Nadia lost her kitty at the state museum here in town when we went with Aunt Chandra a while back (I suspect the dinosaur dig area) and Rowan recently lost his at a hotel stay with Grandma Dorothy. Luckily, beanie babies have become not so fashionable to collect and I can buy the exact toy for next to nothing. I really couldn't resist replacing them when Nadia cried for her kitty every night it was gone and Rowan resorted to other measures. Thankfully his dog is a little cuter than the illustration. I just had to wash the replacements a couple hundred times so they looked a little more authentic and the kids wouldn't suspect that they weren't being handed the original. Thank you beanie babies!
Hopefully I'm consistent in other areas of my life beyond just being behind in blogging. The past few holidays have been kind of a last minute attempt to pull something together. Rowan was really sick before St Patrick's Day and was still recovering, so his leprechaun trap was put together 30 minutes before he went to bed. I'm glad we managed to pull it off though because they have such fun with this little tradition.
After the little ones went to bed, the leprechauns did all sorts of mischievous things around the house. They foiled the trap with a gondola type contraption and tearing out a escape door with their handy tools, but not without leaving some treats for the kids. There's a string tied to the chair that allowed them to slide down in their blue container to help rescue their fallen comrade and to get that elusive golden egg. (Couldn't find chocolate covered coins at Walmart, so we improvised with our bait this year) I happened to have these little treat boxes left over from a baby shower I went to and they worked perfectly. The cutest thing about the next day was how the kids went running all over the house finding the silly things the leprechauns "did". Sometimes they were deliberate, like the green toilet and the graffiti on their white board. Other times, they just found things out of place and blamed it on the leprechauns, like the empty ice cube tray in our room (my internal temperature is running a little high these days) or the "mess" in our backyard (apparently their memories of their own sloppiness are very short term).
Rowan immediately wrote them a note promising revenge next year upon seeing their taunts on the board. We'll have to see what they'll come up with.
When Steve and I first got married, we were thankful to inherit a car that had been passed down through his family from his Grandpa Luke. It was an older car, but with very low mileage and it served us well for a number of years. While we were getting acquainted with our new wheels, we found touches of Grandpa Luke had made their way over from Arizona. One day I found pieces of cardboard with clothespins attached to them to be used as extended sun visors. There were other signs of Grandpa Luke's handiwork like the paint touch ups on the body and duct tape on the seat belt covers. I never got to meet Steve's grandpa, but I admired his handiwork and appreciated his innovative fixes. I could see where Steve's dad got it from when I'd hear about how he attached a small motor to a manual wheat grinder so it would be electric or the random toggle switch he installed on an old truck that somehow made the air conditioning go on and off.
Slowly but surely I've started to see this trait in Steven manifest itself. The power button on my computer went out and for a while he fixed it so I would just rub two wires together to turn my computer on. I think that says something about how much I trust him to be putting random electric wires together. After a while the wires started to fall apart, so now I have an external power button and tape all over my computer. And it works! Then there was the minor car accident that took out one of our headlights on yet another inherited car (I married into a very generous family with an excess of older working vehicles). The part to replace the cover of the headlight was next to impossible to find (we even had relatives scouring Canada for it) and when we did find it, it cost more than the car is probably worth. I'm exaggerating a little there, since we could rip out the other intact headlight on the car and sell it for that much, but you catch my drift. So Steven and his dad put their heads together and came up with a plan to use plexiglass and caulk it in. And it worked.
One of these things is not like the others... One of these things just isn't the same... Normal... Not so normal. To my surprise, it works great. We just went to Lowes and got some high grade plexiglass (they cut to size for free), high heat caulk and voila! New headlight for $15.
I have to say, I like having a guy around that I can ask to fix things, but the process and the end result keeps me on my toes. And when I see Rowan "fixing" something with scotch tape and rope, I know that he's just carrying on the Luke tradition.
Me too. I have a few maternity dresses that are just a tad too short and I haven't been getting much use out of them as a result. Not to mention what happens when you have a toddler climbing all over your lap when you sit down. The extender slip was just what I needed! So I picked up a cheap slip at Walmart for $4 and went from there to a fabric store to pick up the wide trim I would need to finish it off. It seems like it's nearly impossible to find trim that wide, at least in this town. What I could find either was too see through, too lacy (I didn't want it to look like an actual slip falling down), or too expensive. So I went to Marshall's hoping I could alter something there.
Bingo. It's was the right color, not too lacy, not see through, and $9.99. Sold! I wasn't sure how I would fix it to work as a slip though. At first I thought I would just cut the trim off and attach to my Walmart slip I bought. But then I would have to reattach the lining underneath so it wouldn't be see through and that might actually start requiring real effort. Surprisingly, I could get the size 8 dress up over my pregnant self to work as a slip without feeling like my blood supply was being cut off. Thank you elasticized back panel.
So I got rid of this: (I have enough bumps on my body as it is thank you) And got this: I still need to hem the top, but my serger is in the shop so that will have to wait a little while. But this is how it essentially looks. I'm pretty pleased.
And should a certain little girl decide to let me flash the deacons as they are passing sacrament, I won't die of horror. (Not that that has ever happened of course...) The only downfall of these slips is they look strange, to me at least, paired with most other patterns. So for the time being, I'll just be using it for solid skirts and dresses, but I plan to still utilize the slip I bought and make a solid extender slip like you see here for the skirts and dresses that clash with the lace: http://www.vintagehem.com/ They have some really cute ones with just a plain strip of fabric that would be really easy to whip up and I won't be out $30. Score!
I guess it's been a while since I last posted. People are probably sick of checking the blog only to have to keep looking at my gross stomach, so I should probably post something that encourages y'all to come back. (I'm so southern- really though, it does sound better than "you guys")
My birthday
I had a great birthday this year. Not that I got lavish presents or that I magically turned 25 again, but I really felt loved and supported by those around me. My visiting teachers had a little lunch party for me and a few other people came. Then another friend in the ward made me a beautiful chocolate cake. Steve took us out for dinner at a local Mexican place. All in all it was low key, but it was just what I needed.
I love my little goofballs.
Proof that something can be cute and decadent at the same time. It was delicious!!!
We came home and opened a gift from Grandma (and Grandpa) Luke. Steve paid my insane blood tests and ultrasound bills that month as a present to me. It was very romantic. :)
Grandma tapes a mean present. Luckily, I had plenty of help ripping it open.
Yes, I am a crazy person who does not own a single potholder. I cook plenty, I promise! Elaine must of noticed and took pity on me. I also got some cool Pampered Chef gadgets. Grandma Dorothy sent me cash to help fund a crazy expensive wheat grinder purchase along with the Christmas money I got from Steve's parents. Wheat grinders and potholders- I must be 30 to get excited over those.
Preschool
We're still doing preschool once a week, but we've added another member to our group. It's been such a nice diversion in the week and I'm grateful for it.
Painting some "T is for Transportation" toys. Nadia has also started some Kindermusik lessons Steve's parents gave her for her birthday. She LOVES them. It's been another little happy activity in the week that gets us out of the house and gives Nadia something to do.
The first day, all the other kids were timid and wanted their parents to stay. Nadia pushed me out the door. I've never been more proud.
Valentine's Day
A friend in the ward put on a Valentine's Day party for the kiddos where we decorated our bags and sugar cookies. Afterwards we passed out Valentines. Nadia wasn't that interested in passing out the valentines, but she was all over receiving them and eating her massive sugar cookie. Rowan wasn't as lucky since you can't exchange candy at his school. Call me crazy, but pencils and stickers just aren't as fun. Nadia was kind enough to share with him. Comparing hauls at the end of the day. For Valentine's Day, Steve paid more of my insane medical bills. (Are you sensing a theme here?) It was still very romantic. I think I also got some "honey- do" chores done and a footrub out of it too. Woo Hoo!! I love that man.
Zoo
I think this was Memorial Day. A group of ladies from the ward went to the zoo and we got in free with someone's amazing pass. Not only did we get to see the animals, but we got to do all the extra things like feed the birds, ride the ponies, feed the giraffes, ride the train and go on the carousel. It was a blast!
Gardening
For FHE, we started our plants as an activity. I'm tempted to plant them outside now because they are getting so big already. The kids have loved watching the tomatoes and peppers progress and we hope to have a successful little garden this year. Lowes For the past several months, Steve (or occasionally I) have been taking the kiddos to Lowes for their "Build and Grow" workshops. They've acquired quite a few badges and love going for their Daddy time.
My mom also came at the end of February for another one of her 4 day visits. It was so nice to have her come and so crazy that I failed to take a single picture. I'm still in denial that the next time I see her, I'll have a 1 month old. I wish we lived closer. It was probably good that Grandma didn't stick around though because Rowan was horribly sick after she left. For 5 days he barely moved from the couch. Fever and vomiting do not make for a good visit. Not only that but the poor guy lost his two front teeth while it was all happening. The dentist says he's got 4 others that are loose and he's getting a back molar. Not a lot of apple eating for him I'm afraid.
Nadia was thrilled for the day or so that Rowan and she "matched." I'm still sad I didn't get a picture when they did. It would have made for a great "We live in the South" postcard. The baby bump
I'm not ashamed to say I took this in the "skinny" mirror. As you can probably tell, I haven't been utilizing that treadmill in the background. I'm as big as I was when I delivered Rowan and I'm only 29 weeks. Take that Jessica Simpson. And last but not least, I got an ultrasound of our little Elsa last week. They say she is measuring small now, which I don't believe for one second. She is also head up, something I never had with my other kids, but I suppose there is still plenty of time for her to flip over. I sold all of Nadia's baby clothes (for the best since they are going to be opposite seasons anyways) so I have been doing a little eBaying and clearance shopping along with the odd garage sale to build up a new wardrobe for her. We're slowly, but surely getting ready here.
Hopefully we'll get some success with something here. There's pumpkin, watermelon, cantaloupe, corn, tomatoes, peppers, strawberries and probably some other things I've missed.
I love my playset. I know it was horrible to transport, fix up and put it in, but I don't regret it for a second. That thing gets used daily!
Thankfully his dog is a little cuter than the illustration. I just had to wash the replacements a couple hundred times so they looked a little more authentic and the kids wouldn't suspect that they weren't being handed the original. Thank you beanie babies!
One of these things just isn't the same...
Normal...
Not so normal.
I still need to hem the top, but my serger is in the shop so that will have to wait a little while. But this is how it essentially looks. I'm pretty pleased.
And should a certain little girl decide to let me flash the deacons as they are passing sacrament, I won't die of horror. (Not that that has ever happened of course...)
Proof that something can be cute and decadent at the same time. It was delicious!!!
Nadia has also started some Kindermusik lessons Steve's parents gave her for her birthday. She LOVES them. It's been another little happy activity in the week that gets us out of the house and gives Nadia something to do.
And last but not least, I got an ultrasound of our little Elsa last week. They say she is measuring small now, which I don't believe for one second. She is also head up, something I never had with my other kids, but I suppose there is still plenty of time for her to flip over. I sold all of Nadia's baby clothes (for the best since they are going to be opposite seasons anyways) so I have been doing a little eBaying and clearance shopping along with the odd garage sale to build up a new wardrobe for her. We're slowly, but surely getting ready here.
