The happenings around here

School is almost out, so I had better get a blog post up before summer hits and I spend all my days driving my kids around. Why did nobody tell me before I had school aged kids that planning out their summers is practically a full time job? It's not that I think they are overscheduled, it's just that with a different thing going on every week, I have to figure when to fit everything in and still have some time to play and go to the pool and whatnot. I think it'll be fun, but I know I will be relieved when it is over.

Anyway. Here's what is going on around here.

• Garage sale season is in full swing. After several disappointing outings, I found some really good stuff last weekend.
• After driving past it on the way to church every Sunday for nearly four years, we finally got a membership to our local living history museum. We actually got a coupon in the mail for free balloon tickets with purchase of a membership, only by the time we got there the wind had kicked up & they cancelled the ride. But they gave us rain checks so I guess we will have to go back another time!
• I'm keeping really busy (but having fun) making stuff for my Etsy.
• I've been kind of obsessed with The Dodos lately, especially this song.
• Speaking of obsessed, Amy gets really mad if we don't let her wear a dress. She is all about the baby dolls lately, but they have to be naked. She's also figured out how to jump, which is really funny since she barely clears the ground.
• Betsy keeps telling me she is going to be an author when she grows up. She loves to write little stories and then illustrate them. She is really loving first grade (they hatched baby chicks!) and she's been doing well with her spelling. Betsy is all about compound words right now. Sometimes I have a hard time explaining to her when a word isn't.
• And Porter is almost done with preschool. I took him to the kindergarten orientation at his school last week... I needn't have bothered, he already knows his way around the building and has been riding a bus for the last two years. I think he's really ready, since he's already reading and everything. Plus, in kindergarten they do a unit about dinosaurs.
• Oh yeah, we booked our next vacation to Disneyworld. We'll be going at the end of October when the kids are on fall break. Woo hoo! By then it will have been more than three years since our last visit, which I think is a decent interval. The kids are getting hyped up for it already.
• Betsy's dance recital is this Saturday. Be watching this space, I'll post video. She likes to put on her costume (it's purple) and practice the dance, so I can verify that it is, in fact, wicked adorable.

Bleh.

It doesn't come as a shock to anyone who knows me that I am not really the biggest fan of winter. I even haven't updated my blog in ages because once Christmas is over, there's nothing interesting to say or do or look at for weeks at a time. It snows, it melts, it rains, it snows some more. Actually, today is one of those icy-sunny days, which I think I prefer over 30 degrees and overcast. So yay for the sun. Although, I'm probably not doing myself any favors dividing my time between the basement (for crafting) and the computer (for tutoring and, occasionally, updating the ol' blog.)

But we are just plugging along in this family. Matt goes to work, Betsy goes to first grade, Porter is in preschool in the afternoons and when Amy naps I have a little time to get things done. Matt took Porter to a Pacers game last week and they both had fun, although Porter was mainly interested in the water fountains at Conseco Fieldhouse. Betsy had the 100th day of school and glued 100 buttons to a T shirt - much to my surprise, they didn't all fall off. Amy's new words lately are "okay" and "mm-hmm" (both of which crack me up), she's doing better with two-word sentences, and she likes to blow raspberries on my cheeks. She's also obsessed with baby dolls but that's nothing new.

As I mentioned above, I've been doing a lot of crafting in the new year. Mainly sewing, so far. (I finally cracked and got a Slice - a digital cutter for scrapbooking - but it was dysfunctional and I had to send it back, so I really haven't scrapped that much yet.) I've been sewing a lot of doll clothes - something I really enjoy, although I think I need to take a break from it for a while. Last night I cut out the girls' Easter dresses, mainly as a way of looking forward to spring. They will both be vintage patterns (Amy's and Betsy's) made out of fabric with vintage patterns on it. Yes, there are times when I enjoy being the mother of daughters and this is definitely one of those times.

I was talking to a friend today and realized that while I've been sewing like crazy lately, I've barely sewn anything for myself. In the past year I've made me two dresses and a skirt. Sad. Now, one of my New Year's resolutions - pretty much the only one - is NO NEW FABRIC until at least June. It's fun to challenge myself to shop from my stash, and I've realized that I really need to make something for myself, because I've reached that inevitable point in the winter when I realize I hate all of my clothes. Anyway, I have lots of summer dresses, and lots of Sunday dresses, but what I really need is a winter weekday dress. Something that I can wear over thick cotton tights and some knee-high boots (from Goodwill, of course). So I went through my ever-growing pattern stash (the corollary to my rule above, by the way, is no new patterns, either) and I've definitely come up with some good options. I have lots of vintage patterns that are actually my size, so hopefully I will be able to get something whipped up by the end of next week.

The other thing that's been keeping me busy lately - no, it's not laundry - is the Easter Cantata. See, a lady in my ward decided it would be fun to put together a multi-ward choir (It really baffles me that some mothers - she has three small kids, even - can do stuff like this and I can't even get my laundry folded.) and put on a massive performance of one of Sally DeFord's easter cantatas. Matt was actually the one who saw the flyer first and told me about it - I've really missed being in a big choir since I left Rochester. Anyway, guess what this paricular choral work has?

Have you guessed yet?

FLUTE PARTS, and guess who plays the flute (although not so much in recent years), it's me. So I went ahead and volunteered my services, and surprisingly there are actually not a ton of flute players around here, so they were more than happy to have me. So I've had to practice a lot, although I have to say, it's all come back pretty easily. I loaded the music onto my new MP3 player (Thanks, Matt!) and listened to it over and over so that hopefully, when March 28th comes around, I won't totally embarrass myself.

Actually, now that I think about it, 2010 hasn't been so boring after all. We've been to the Children's Museum and saw the new Barbie exhibit (Mom - you HAVE to come see it) and we went to Conner Prarie, the local living-history place, on MLK Day when it was free. I actually liked it so much I think we might get a membership (it's only $65 a year, which is cheaper than any of our other memberships) and go back in the summer. Matt and I went out for our 9th anniversary (only a month or so late) and I wore this new outfit, courtesy of Goodwill. The Colts are going to the Super Bowl, and unlike certain brothers of mine, I am hoping they will win (although I wouldn't mind if a Super Bowl victory is not followed by a giant blizzard like it was the last time around). I've been watching Universal Sports Network a whole lot lately and getting excited for the Winter Olympics, which I always enjoy watching even though I'm not really a sports person. So it's been a decent year so far and there is still plenty to look forward to.

2009: Year In Review

Yeah, so I've been meaning to do this blog post all year (ha!) and haven't had the time. Right now I am in a tutoring session waiting for a student so I will take the opportunity to sum up some of the many things that happened in 2009. Sort of the highlights of my blog, if my blog can be said to have any highlights.

• 2009 got off to not the greatest start with my Grandaddy passing away. I have to say, though, that in looking back I find this more bittersweet than anything else. His passing wasn't particularly unexpected, it was peaceful, and he had a really beautiful funeral with military honors. (Oh, and I was totally shouting ROLL TIDE last night in Grandaddy's honor.)
• Things got kind of interesting with the child care situation. And then, all of a sudden, everything got easier again when I was let go from my job. I have to say, I was expecting to stop working sometime in 2009, but not in the way that I did. Crazy. On the plus side, I've been able to get more tutoring hours and that goes a long way in making up lost income, especially since I don't have to pay for child care (and can write blog posts while I work). And I can totally take a nap or make cookies any time I want.
• We didn't have any car accidents in 2009, thank goodness. The van did have a flat tire and a $400 brake job, but it's got 80,000 miles on it (and is paid off) so I guess that's to be expected.
• I got a serger, which is like the awesomest thing ever. It really came in handy when making Betsy's Halloween costume. And I established my craft area in the basement, which means I now never have to pick up after myself ever and have almost infinite storage space for all the fabric in the world.
• Amy started walking. And talking. We found out she has a mild speech delay (the other 2 probably did as well but we didn't know as much at the time) and started her with speech therapy through First Steps. Which basically consists of a Nice Lady with Toys who comes out and plays with Amy for an hour, twice a month. Win-win as far as I'm concerned.
• One visit to urgent care (when I spontaneously broke out in hives in July) and one visit to the ER (y'know, when Porter fell on his head) complete with CAT scans. No stitches or broken bones or concussions or appendectomies, thank heavens.
• I saw two of my brothers get married: Rob in the same church where Emily and Russell got married, and Kevin in the Washington D.C temple (it was my first time attending a temple wedding since my own). Welcomed three new girls into the Blinn family: a niece and then two sisters-in-law, tipping the balance even more favorably towards the double X chromosome.
• Now that I think about it, I saw the Blinns a lot in 2009. Besides the weddings and funeral, my parents and sisters traveled here a couple of times, such as to see Mike graduate law school or because I didn't think Matt and I could finish a whole Thanksgiving turkey by ourselves. Also, Cath came out for like a week and a half during the summer and we had a blast. Of course, with Mike and his family living on the south side of town, I expect we'll be seeing a lot of them (sorry, guys). Actually, I totally unexpectedly ran into Mandy and Miles at the Children's Museum right after Christmas (well, the museum is really fun so it's not that unexpected).
• Porter spontaneously taught himself to read. At the tender young age of four and with still a full year left before he starts kindergarten. Yeah, much as I would like to take credit for that one, I really can't. If anything, we should blame the bump to his head because it was right after that that he suddenly knew how to read. I wonder if it will be like in old movies where he will bump his head again and then forget everything. I sure hope not.
• Betsy also learned how to read in 2009, and learned math and writing too - she is really loving first grade.
• The kids took swimming lessons over the summer - this was as much about conquering my irrational fear as it was about them. Crazy Mother, party of one! Betsy also did some sports camps which she enjoyed, even if she doesn't show a whole lot of natural athletic ability. Sorry, Matt.
• Matt and I both got new callings: he's the stake Young Men secretary and I am the Primary chorister.
• Interestingly, 2009 was the year I decided not to have any more kids. For a long time I'd been planning on adding a fourth after Amy and this year I realized that's not practical for several reasons. The good news is this means I get to keep calling Amy "the baby" until she's about 60 or so.
• I joined Facebook. Weird to say that this changed my life, but in a way it did - I got back in contact with many high school and college friends and have even met up with some of them in the "real world" (you know, that thing that's not a computer).
• I started a lot of projects, and finished many of them.
• I had several cards and a layout picked up for publication. I have received some of them already and am currently stalking bookstores for Scrapbook Trends' latest idea book (there should be a cute one-year-old inside!)
• I bought two American Girl dolls, both of them secondhand at ridiculous discounts, and both of which are currently put away for the girls to get a little older (a Kit for Betsy and a Bitty Baby for my bitty baby). Also, I discovered how insanely fun it is to sew clothes for American Girl dolls.
• I finally joined the rest of the world, circa 2005, when Matt got me an MP3 player for Christmas. But I still have a cell phone that only makes phone calls.
• I played my flute in church right before Christmas - something I haven't done for a while. (But I will be doing a lot of fluting in 2010 so stay tuned!)
• I learned how to sell on both eBay and Etsy - didn't sell a whole lot, but made enough to have a little bit of "fun money" to blow on fabric and patterned paper.
• Turned thirty, and found my first gray hairs. Yuck.
• Things that didn't happen in 2009 that I thought probably would: Matt didn't find a different job and I didn't stop nursing Amy. Oh well, there's always 2010.

Thirty things I've learned in thirty years

1. If you love someone, tell him right away.

2. I have the best sisters in the world.

3. My brothers aren't too shabby either.

4. It doesn't pay to be an early adopter of new technology.

5. Chocolate.

6. In looks and personality, I am a little dad, a little mom, but mostly my own self.

7. I am a good writer.

8. I can be either a morning or a night person as required.

9. How hard you work in life sometimes means less than who you know.

10. No matter what job I have, I can always find something to like about it.

11. But it's probably good I've never worked retail.

12. I will probably never stop twirling my hair, and that's okay. I actually see other people doing it all the time.

13. If God wanted me to swim, He'd have given me gills.

14. I shouldn't have waited so long to learn how to sew.

15. I live in the greatest country in the world.

16. Music makes me happy.

17. It's impossible to start the Christmas season too soon.

18. I still swoon over cute male celebrities. This is totally normal and doesn't make me a bad wife.

19. There is a huge difference between the ages of 19 and 21.

20. Filtered water is best.

21. I am more financially responsible than the majority of Americans.

22. The best books were written between 1910 and 1950 or so.

23. It's kind of nice to be five foot seven.

24. Be mindful of the opportunity costs.

25. Eating good food with people you like is one of the great pleasures in life.

26. If you're wearing something crazy and people are staring at you, it's probably because they wish they were brave enough to pull off something like that themselves.

27. The internet is awesome, but it'll steal your soul if you don't watch out.

28. Leftover black bean quesadillas are the best breakfast of all time.

29. The most flattering clothes are ones that fit.

30. The dryer really does work better if you remember to clean the lint trap. (Sorry, Matt!)

There's a chill in the air...

It was actually in the mid-sixties yesterday, but the gale force winds made it feel a lot cooler. The calendar and I agree: it is definitely fall. Now, I largely view summer as something to be gotten through in order to achieve the reward of cooler days (I mean, I like the 4th of July and the State Fair and everything, but I hate to sweat) so I'm happy when I can open the windows to let the breezes in and haul my sweaters out of storage.

There are lots of fun things about fall. Like the season premieres of all my favorite TV shows. I actually somehow spaced out on the first episode of The Office (don't worry, I caught it online) and Chuck, another favorite of mine, won't be around until winter (curse you, Jay Leno, for messing up the NBC schedule!) but the first episode of Season 7 of NCIS was AMAZING. Now, it's no secret how I feel about that show, but WOW. Can't wait for the second episode tonight.

Speaking of NCIS, here's a birthday card that I made for a friend who is also a fan of the show:
The sentiment on the front is a reference to how DiNozzo likes his pizza, and on the inside I wrote (actually stamped, and I still have red ink all over my fingers, which would be so cool if it was Halloween) "May you enjoy all of the things you love on your birthday." And I love the crisp autumnal colors and vintage stylin' of those papers (Cosmo Cricket's Early Bird line). I made a whopping $10 off of our fall neighborhood garage sale, and promptly blew it all on scrapbook supplies.

And speaking of cards, October 3 is World Card-Making Day. (There are just all kinds of craft-related holidays! For example, September is National Sewing Month. I think my previous post shows how I feel about that.) That's also the first day of General Conference, so I think I'll set up the broadcast on the baby monitor and go down in the basement, so I can listen to the prophet and apostles and play around with paper & stickers at the same time. Since it's conference, I'll also need to make some cinnamon rolls.

Speaking of baking (Man, I am just on fire today with these awesome segues!), fall is also the time I really want to start baking again. Actually, I'd start making Christmas cookies right now if I thought I could get away with it (have I made it clear on this blog how I feel about Christmas?) but that would be weird, so I'll hold off until at least November 1. But I got some baking apples to make a pie, and I just found a recipe for pumpkin chocolate chip cookies that I'd like to try (did you know that a can of pumpkin has like a zillion percent of your RDA for Vitamin A? See, they're not a dessert, they're health food) and oh yeah! The cookie press that Matt gave me last Christmas has a pumpkin shaped plate so I'll have to get that out too.

Another thing that fall brings is the Primary music program for church. Now, at first it seemed like a bum deal that I got called as Primary chorister less than two months before the program, but the more I thought about it, the more I realized it's not so bad. See, the kids already know the songs; I don't have to worry so much about teaching them, just reviewing. And the calling is really starting to grow on me. (Much like seminary did two years ago.) The first two Sundays, I thought I was going to die, sweat was just pouring off me and I was certain that the kids could all see through me. BUT once I convinced myself that I could do it (and really, how judgemental can these kids be? They're all eleven and under) then I started to have fun. I mean, I like kids (apparently), I like music so what's not to love?

Oh! And I am so looking forward to Halloween, even though I am nowhere near ready for it. Matt's parents are actually coming out to visit the last weekend in October, and the kids are way psyched that Grandma and Grandpa get to see them in their costumes. Porter is going to be Buzz Lightyear again, Amy is going as the ubiquitous zebra, but Betsy actually gets a new costume this year. She told me in June, or maybe it was April, that she wanted to be "the good witch from the Wizard of Oz" this year. Yikes - lucky thing I have a serger, for all that ravelly fabric! Anyway, lucky me, this was the year that Simplicity put out an actual licensed Wizard of Oz pattern (they actually did several versions, including baby, dog, and ho) so I won't have to improvise. It did take me a really long time to find the exact right color for Glinda's dress - it's not a pink pink, it's more of a peachy pink - but I finally tracked it down at Hancock's (clearance, yay!) and got everything cut out last night. So, we'll certainly be an eclectic bunch for Halloween (someday I'll make matching themed costumes for the three of them, but not this year) but as long as there's candy, it's all good!

Catching up, yet again.

Wow, it's been a while since I've updated this blog. (I've found Facebook to be a pretty effective timesuck, in case you were wondering.) First off, a meme from my SIL Laura's blog - she tagged me in one of those 'Seven random things about yourself' dealies and in case you haven't noticed by now, I love talking about myself and could do it all day.

1. I consider myself to be pretty low maintenance. I've still never had a pedicure, I color my own hair (when I remember to, anyway) and the only place I buy shoes these days is Goodwill.

2. Speaking of which, even if we were millionaires I'd still shop at Goodwill.

3. I actually resisted getting a digital camera for a really long time. Matt still teases me about this from time to time. As it is we're only on our second digital (and unlike most scrapbookers, I still have a fairly basic point-and-shoot).

4. I love the bonus features on DVDs, especially the previews. (This is actually a trait that Porter shares with me!)

5. I write fan fiction, but until recently I didn't really admit it in public! Now I don't care who knows. And I am really addicted to reviews as a way of boosting my ego. Horrible, I know.

6. If I ever have the time and money, I'll probably go back to school. Because paying off student loans is just so much fun!

7. They haven't really bothered me yet, but I need to get my wisdom teeth removed.

Moving on... the kids are in school now, and I am loving it. Betsy's in first grade and she seems to be adjusting really well so far. Porter is in afternoon preschool this year so four days a week, I am down to one kid between noon and 3:30. Which is pretty awesome, especially because Amy still naps.

But because summer isn't over yet, we went to the State Fair last weekend. Which is always fun, and to prove it, here's pictures!

Moving right along

I mourned Catherine's departure for a little while, but then I had to keep going, because it's a busy summer. (And really, it's not like we won't all be seeing each other soon, when Kevin gets married.) After Betsy's T-ball camp, next on the roster was swimming lessons. Ahh, swimming lessons. I told you there was a story there...

See, back in the eighties, when I showed up for my very first lesson at the YMCA (and unlike most of the kids there, I actually couldn't swim at all) they informed us that first thing, right off the bat, we'd all be jumping into the deep end. And they had diving boards, so it was deep, like twelve feet or something and you could barely see the bottom. Now, I've always been good at math so I could figure out that at four-foot-something, I'd be jumping into water WAY over my head. My objection - and I think this is a valid one - is that maybe they should go ahead and teach me how to SWIM, first, and then I'll consider jumping into water considerably deeper than my short stature. The swim instructor, who I can still remember vividly (and this was the eighties, so there was one instructor for all these kids) told me to do it anyway, that I wouldn't drown. I've always had a hard time ignoring my instinct for self-preservation, so I refused. I did eventually jump in, but it didn't accomplish anything (although I didn't drown, obviously). I was scared and stubborn, and the instructor just didn't know how to handle that. All he ended up doing was making me MORE scared. Anyway, after a couple of summers Mom and Dad got tired of wasting their money so I was spared further torture. (I've actually had a few people since then try to teach me how to swim and I've figured out it's just not in the cards for someone as hopelessly uncoordinated as me. I'd be able to swim just fine if I had gills. Seriously, as soon as I turn my head to breathe, I sink like a stone. Needless to say, given the choice between swimming and continuing to live, I choose the latter.)

The thing I didn't realize until recently is that my experience was pretty much par for the course. The prevailing method of swim instruction for my generation was the whole "Throw 'em in and they'll figure it out." I mean, it was a different time, you know? Reagan was president and we used to walk to school. And being unceremoniously tossed into the water worked just fine for a lot of people - my husband, for example - but not so much for me. Sure, I'll go in the pool with the kids, but it was years before the smell of chlorine didn't make my stomach do flip-flops. (And it goes a long way in explaining this, although it's also possible that I'm just nuts.) But I also decided early on that I didn't want my kids to be non-swimming lame-os like their mom. I informed Matt that if I didn't like the way their swimming lessons were being run, I'd pull them out, even if they're non-refundable.

But, I'm happy to report that things have actually changed a lot since I was a kid. My kids are taking lessons down at one of the high schools, where there's one instructor for every two or three kids. And the instructors are a bunch of college-aged girls (they're adorable) who are actually patient and empathetic, and don't view it as a sign of weakness that my kids don't already know how to swim. (That's the thing which has always baffled me about my lessons at the Y: why the heck would my parents be paying for lessons if I already knew how? But I digress, and quite frankly, I'm sure you're all sick of this journey into my wounded and delicate psyche by now) Betsy was pretty intimidated the first day, but she's doing fine now. And Porter displays the usual fearlessness we've come to expect from him. When they were in the thirteen-foor diving well last Thursday, he was hanging on the edge with one hand and dunking his head under like it was nothing. (I have to spend my time talking to the other moms so that I can avoid projecting my fears onto my kids. But I still make them walk as close to the wall as possible when we're alongside the pool. I know, I'm a loser.) I think, with a few more summers like this, they'll be swimming like little fishes.

Unfortunately, we haven't been down to the neighborhood pool for my kids to hone their skills, because it's been in the seventies and low eighties for the last couple of weeks. Not that I'm complaining, mind you. I hate to sweat. But I think we all know what's going to happen... as soon as the kids start school (the second week of August! What the heck, Indiana?!) summer will finally begin in earnest. In the meantime, we've got plenty to keep us busy. Things like...

• Getting Betsy's back-to-school shopping done. She really needs jeans that don't have gaping holes in the knees. I don't know how she does it. We've also got to get her on a schedule once we get back from our trip, because she tends to sleep in until 8:30 or so. Not going to work once you're in first grade, missy!
• Preparing for our upcoming trip to Washington, D.C. for Kevin's wedding and a much-needed vacation. We've been walking around the neighborhood to get in shape; Matt's been poring over the Fodor and I've been reading this, which, while not technically a guidebook, is an awfully entertaining read.
• Alternating between paper-crafting and sewing. Right now I'm working on the NCIS cards (I'll post pictures as soon as I'm finished). Matt got me an actual office chair for the basement (thank you very much, Staples, for having a 50% off sale) and my back is much happier. Next up: some knit dresses for Betsy to wear in the fall. I'm so excited about having a serger, because a serger means I can sew knits, and guess what? Stretchy dresses don't need zippers. So it's an elegant, if expensive, solution to my continued zipper-ineptitude.
• I finally listed some stuff on Etsy and I had my first sale: a vintage card of tiny pink buttons. (They were featured in my National Pink Day post, and now they're in Colorado someplace.)
• Cooking out as often as possible, and making S'mores. Oh, the deliciousness. Only we've let the marshmallows go slightly stale since then (I had to hide them, because even on the highest shelf in the pantry Porter could still get them) so I will have to make some Rice Krispy Treats. I know, it's hard, but making sacrifices is part of being a mother.
• Trying not to drool too much over the CHA new releases (American Crafts, you'll be the death of me yet).
• Adult conversation! Really! See, since joining Facebook I've gotten back in touch with a lot of my college friends (and it's only eight years since I graduated, so I don't have a good excuse) and some of us decided to gather at Buca di Beppo's last Saturday. Matt graciously volunteered to stay home with the kids, for which he was handsomely rewarded with leftover lasagna.
• Updating my blog. See?

See?

I told you I'd update for real, and here it is. In no particular order, here's a handy bullet-pointed list of what I've been up to lately. Oh, and with no photos because Blogger is evil.

• Mom, Dad, and the little girls were here last weekend because Mike was graduating from law school (INSERT LAWYER JOKE HERE) down in Bloomington and I guess they thought it would be a lark to see us as well. Whatever.
• We took the girls down to the Childrens Museum on Saturday and had a great time. Betsy got to meet Barbie because they will be opening a Barbie exhibit soon (and by "soon" I mean seven months from now) in honor of the doll's 5oth. Amy got to ride on the carousel and I could have DIED from the cuteness. This is one of those times when the whole Blogger-is-evil thing gets kind of inconvenient, because pictures would have been nice.
• And oh yes, there was Steak 'n' Shake. Guess what? The Frisco Melt is STILL delicious.
• We went to three different Goodwill stores in one day. Mom got some awesome old records (as in really old, pre-vinyl, I think you have to use a pterodactyl's beak to play them) and we saw the single most interesting set of living room furniture I have EVER seen. Oh, how I wish I'd taken a picture. And it sort of led to my developing an alter ego but the less said about THAT, the better.
• I cooked a lot of stuff in the Crock Pot. It seems to be the easiest way of doing stuff for a crown and my mom LOVES the Moroccan Chicken. But on Sunday Matt made a grilled pork tenderloin and that was delicious too.
• Betsy's flower girl dress is done! Mom did the invisible zipper for me because I am NOT GOOD at zippers. I also used her serger for some parts because the serger fairy just keeps missing my house. Maybe I need to leave a tooth under my pillow, or something. AND I learned how to use the blindhem on my machine so guess who won't be hemming by hand anymore?
• Porter and his Graypa are like best friends forever now. After my family went home Porter just sat forlornly on the swing with no one to push him. *sniffle*
• It's official: I want a Wii.
• It was fun to have Mom here for Mothers Day. I made her a mini chipboard album/brag book with pictures of all the grandkids. She acted like she liked it even though I know she secretly hates it. Porter gave me a potted flower and Betsy painted a picture for me in her kindergarten class (and KEPT IT A SECRET which is pretty impressive in itself). I got chocolate at church and a Hobby Lobby gift card from a husband who knows me all too well. (So far I've used it for some Stickles and a magnetic pincushion. I can only use one 40% coupon at a time and my legendary cheapness is not suspended even when it's a gift.)
• Mom and I went antiquing, something I've been dying to do for the longest time. While she was drooling over the Fire King dishes and gingham aprons, I found a book I've been hunting for ages: The Little Brown Jug At Kildare, by forgotten Hoosier author Meredith Nicholson. I read a bunch of his books while I was in college (they had a whole shelf at the Butler library) and that one was my favorite. It's a really nice edition with a full color front and it only set me back ten bucks... probably because the dealer didn't realize that it was written by an Indiana native.
• Amy learned how to say hi. Her first word! While we were out she was keeping up a stream of HI HI HI HI HI HI to everyone around us, which was really cute. She can also say Bye Bye and wave her hand, which is darling. And she walks. WHICH IS NOT FAIR.

What I'm up to lately

1. Not working on Betsy's flower girl dress for Rob & Laura's wedding. Not at the moment, anyway. I did get it completely cut out and marked, which took the better part of a day. And I put in all the stay-stitching, the gathers, AND the basting, but I had to stop there because I am CLEAN OUT of white thread. Crazy thing to run out of, I know. (You can see here how I marked everything. Wouldn't it be funny if all that washable marker didn't wash out? HA HA.) JoAnn's is having a massive sale early next week so I will pick up some more thread, along with the blue material for the sash. In the meantime, I got a whole passel of photos printed (which is slightly less than a slew) so, there's always scrapping.



2. Scrapping. Because it's fun, and also because I got some goodies in the mail. I actually wrote to Making Memories to ask them for a replacement of these paper snowflakes I got - the die was mis-aligned and some of them were cut funny, which is no big deal, but I'd heard they were good about replacing defective products. Anyway, they emailed me back and said that they were FRESH OUT of paper snowflakes (Maybe because it's April? I dunno) but they'd send me some other products for my trouble. This padded envelope full of joy appeared in my mailbox the day before Easter. I'm kind of in love with the colors (yay! green! I don't use enough green) and the little 6x6 paper pad will be perfect for card-making. Speaking of which...
   
   
3. I finally opened my Etsy shop after wanting to for a really long time. Totally not a big thing but I thought it would be fun to make some cards & stuff and sell them. If you click on the cute little wolf on my sidebar it will take you directly to my shop.



4. Making homemade stuff to give to people (from that 3 things post I mentioned a while back). I made a 'new baby' card for Emily, a birthday card for my mom, and some onesies for a lady in the ward who just had her FIFTH baby. Okay, I didn't actually MAKE the onesies - the good people at Gerber did that. But I did slave over a hot iron for a good twenty minutes, so that's gotta be good for something. (I also patched Betsy's school jeans while I had the iron out. I swear, that girl has cast iron knees or something.)



5. Laughing at all the people who waited until the last minute to file their taxes. We got our refund forever ago. And it was our biggest refund ever, only because we paid a king's ransom in child care and health expenses in 2008.



6. Trying to ignore the 937 pounds of leftover ham in the fridge.



7. Also trying to ignore the Hog Heaven paper pack at Michaels. That is one of my favorite paper lines EVER (I even made a card with it that's being published soon. Yay!) but I truly do NOT need any more patterned paper. Like that's ever stopped me in the past. Don't even get me STARTED about the new Thickers at Hobby Lobby.



8. Eyeing my non-nursing-accessible clothes with a bit of longing. Yes, Amy still views me as the walking lunch cart, and I am okay with that. But. I have this awesome dress I got at Target in the winter (on clearance for 6 bucks. Woo hoo!) that I have not worn once. It sort of represents the light at the end of the tunnel and my consolation prize for when I am not able to nurse any more.
   
   
9. Writing fan fiction, because I'm a dork like that.



10. Obsessively refining my Pandora station. I know you can have multiple stations but I prefer to have one big giant mishmash. The other day it played CSN&Y, and then Buffalo Springfield, and then The Byrds, and then I think Stills & Nash or whatever that last incarnation was. And while I could listen to 'Rock and Roll Woman' all.day.long. I thought that was a pretty funny combination. Not so much with the variety.



11. Hanging out with other women from church. Dude, I love being a stay-at-home mom again. We've been doing brunch (which sounds a LOT fancier than it actually is) every Wednesday, more or less. I'm hosting next week, mainly out of pure selfishness, so that I don't have to leave early to come home and meet Porter's bus. (Which sometimes comes at 11:30 and sometimes at 11:55. Oh well, you get what you pay for.)



12. Number 11 notwithstanding, applying for some part-time chemistry jobs. And fielding calls for Matt, which is a good thing. He had 4 prospective employers call him in two days... and they were all women, so I've started teasing him about that. Fingers crossed that one of them will come to fruition. (Not one of the four, but can you believe Sallie Mae is hiring again? Crazy!)



13. Wearing my glasses a lot more, because I'm down to my last pair of contacts and we have no vision insurance. We also have no dental, so don't forget to floss, kids!



14. Totally pumped to rock out to the New Kids On The Block in June with my awesome SIL, Mandy. Oh oh o-o-oh, the right stuff.
    
    
15. Getting ready for Porter's birthday party, which I totally forgot is in like a week and a half. We're heading down to HobLob this afternoon to gather party supplies. I made these awesome invitations, or rather I made one invite and then scanned it and uploaded it to Walgreens, because they're having a 10-cent print sale. It's really cute, and I'd post it here except that it has all of our personal information on it (address, phone number, blood type, last 3 library books checked out, etc.) and I don't trust you people.



16. Excited for my parents & the little girls to come out in May. I'm totally planning a ton of fun stuff to do. (Children's museum? Check! Fabric store? Check! Antiquing in our awesome downtown? Check and check! Steak n Shake? Is pretty much a given. Art museum? Only if there's time after all the other fun stuff! Who needs sleep, right?)



17. Wondering if the sun is ever going to come out.

Paranoid in the suburbs

My husband is AWESOME.

It ended up taking him about a week, start to finish. (Which of course GUARANTEED that winter would have to give us one last gasp before melting gracefully into spring, because this is Indiana. It actually snowed while we were in church yesterday.) He started it on a Saturday and the following Thursday, not even a full week later, we got the requisite snotty letter from our HOA. "Your play set in your back yard is broken. Please fix it or we'll charge you a $25 fine." I got a pretty good chuckle out of that, especially because that's the second time we've gotten a letter from the HOA about something that, when you really get right down to it, is not actually a violation of the neighborhood covenant. (The first was my kids' Little Tikes playhouse... you know, the kind that you see in every third backyard.) I thought it was pretty amusing that one of our neighbors had nothing better to do than rat us out for not completing construction in a timely manner (which is, apparently, less than a week). I have this funny mental image of one of our neighbors peering out between the blinds, furtively scribbling on a little spiral bound notebook. So we amused ourselves trying to figure out who it was. I'm pretty sure it wasn't our next door neighbors (although their kids were pretty darn eager for us to finish our play set so that they could play on it while our kids play on theirs); I'm fairly certain it's not the guy who didn't mow his lawn for two months last summer; and I'm nearly positive it's not the family that does archery practice in their backyard. But whoever it is, I guess they're happy now.

So, here's some other fun things to share.

• When we were at Toys R Us getting the baby swing, I found that Fisher Price is totally bringing back a lot of their old-school toys. And even better? Some of them are in PINK. I got Amy a pink corn popper and a pink chatter phone (you know, the one with the rotary dial. Remember rotary dials?) for her birthday gift from Grandma and Grandpa.
• I love this interview with Colin Firth and Ben Barnes. I swear they're like an old married couple. Totally cannot wait to see Mr. Darcy and Prince Caspian in the same movie.
• And I love this idea: paying it forward, crafty-style. I'm working on 3 projects to share and will post pictures as soon as I'm done.
• We got Bolt from Netflix and there was a preview for The Princess And The Frog, which is supposed to be all hand-drawn animation (speaking of There's No School Like The Old Skool). It looks like it will be really good.
• I actually got a compliment on my personal style the other day. I was at the school and one of my teachers told me I looked like I should be on American Idol. I was really flattered! I guess I've come a long way since my days of total dorkitude.
• Oscar Mayer makes little tiny hot dogs now. I know that's not exciting for most people but it is for my kids.
• The kids are on spring break next week. I'm so glad I will be around to do fun things with them. And you know what else, people? It's almost skirt weather!
• I actually have a job interview tomorrow (organic extraction, third shift). Haven't decided yet if I really want to go back to working full time... Matt had a really good month for sales in March and also, I am having way too much fun with my kids. But it's nice to think that I am still desirable, thin resume and the lousy economy notwithstanding.
• Remember how cold it was on Easter last year? It should be much nicer this year. And here's a fun bit of trivia: Amy will actually be more than one year old on her first Easter. (One year and three days but it still counts.)
• It's my mom's birthday today! Let's all wish her a happy one.

Ten items or less

1. Amanda Ripley, author of The Unthinkable, is going to be on 20/20 on Friday night. I've been recommending the book to everyone - it's one of the most interesting things I've ever read. (The title and cover makes it seem like it's a scary book, but for me at least, it had the opposite effect.) So if you don't have time to sit down and read a whole book, catch the TV version of it instead.



2. One of my very best friends just opened up this Etsy store. Cute!



3. How's this for cool: a craft-themed line of scrapbooking supplies (from, of course, American Crafts)!



4. Porter and I discovered Wubbcasts the other day (YouTube with Mom is an important part of his after-bath ritual) and I think I am addicted. Porter really likes the water fight; my favorite is the hopelessly-earwormy Don't Lie. You are powerless to resist its catchiness...



5. I've heard the same song on the radio on my drive into work every day for weeks. Is the universe trying to tell me something, or is it merely a case of diegogarcity?



6. Look look! Mother-daughter dresses! And mother-daughter shoes! Oh, the possibilities...



7. I am so glad that all of the drugstore-brand cosmetics manufacturers have jumped on the whole mineral-foundation bandwagon... because that means I can finally afford it. And it makes my skin look awesome.



8. So, Butler basketball is doing really awesome this year. But, is anyone really surprised by that? I mean, at some point doesn't the word 'Cinderella' no longer apply?



9. I analyzed batch # 24601 today. And no, I did not pile all the lab equipment into a barricade and climb on top of it waving a flag. I did hum a little to myself, though. (It was a 5W20 semi synthetic, in case you're wondering.)



10. My babysitter's kid is finally gaining weight, now that she's started him on solids. She's also been feeding him some of the extra milk from my freezer and the doctor told her not to because (and this is a direct quote) my milk is "not fatty enough." Gee, I guess that explains the appearance of Amy's thighs...

Avast, ye! Swab the poop deck! Et cetera!

That's right, it's International Talk Like A Pirate Day again! Yarr! In case you were wondering, my pirate name is Cap'n Gwyn Sharkchum. And if you ever wondered what kind of pirate I am, it's the kind that doesn't do anything. Well, either that or a space pirate. It's also International Wear A Dress Week, so I have on a skirt right now - since the work week is finally over. I need a pirate dress. That would be cool.



So, so much has been going on lately, and I haven't blogged about any of it. My little sister is a teenager now, my brother got engaged, and both of my baby nephews turned one. We finally got around to painting Porter's room this weekend. The paint chip described the color as apple green but it came out of the bucket highlighter-yellow, though it eventually dried to what Betsy describes as "sunny green." That's actually the phrase she uses for light colors: ie. sunny brown is tan. But in this case it actually works.



Amy is getting closer and closer, but she still hasn't mastered the whole crawling thing. She gets up on all fours and rocks, and then she throws up one fat leg behind her like she wants to sit up. She can actually sort of iinchworm-it across the floor but inevitably gets stuck in the corner, like those robot dogs always do. And then she goes "Arf! Arf!" until her batteries run down.

Porter started preschool this week. Here he is on his first day. Isn't he cute?


This week they learned about watermelons. And he gets to ride the bus every day, just like Betsy! He was pretty jealous when she started riding the bus in the spring so I'm glad it's his turn now.

And Betsy? Well, kindergarten is pretty much love for her. You remember that, right? Life doesn't get much better than kindergarten. Her teacher is really big on writing - for example, she tells the students if they want to ask her a question or remind her of something, they should write her a note, and she's sent home words we can post all over the house - and Betsy really seems to get it. Pretty much every scrap of paper - junk mail, receipts, I swear I caught her with the checkbook the other day but I got to it before she vandalized it - is covered with letters. Sometimes I can decipher it, sometimes not. They just got done with a unit on butterflies, and as everyone knows,


butterflies are wonderful.

Guess who weighs eighteen pounds and isn't getting polio?

AMY LOU, that's who. She is also a pro at rolling back and forth, sometimes does and sometimes does not like cereal, has a tiny corner of one tiny tooth poking through her gums, and is FURIOUS that she hasn't learned how to crawl yet. Dang, I really need to take some more pictures of her, I think the most recent ones are from the State Fair, and that was a while ago. Trust me, she's cute.

Got me some blog love from Beth and Susan!

And got a Six Random Facts tag from... um, someone. I think it was Mom. (Everyone and their mother is blogging these days! Har har!) Granted, I've been writing this blog for over two years now, and while it's ostensibly for the purposes of keeping updated on the kids, I mostly just write random musings and navel-gazing, don't I? And then Dad comments in haiku. It's all good. However, I think there's a lot of value to the 'random things' posts because you probably know the BIG things about me (number of kids, whether or not I like chemistry [yes], etc) but that doesn't tell you that I haven't eaten Jello for years and years and years. You know why, Dad. And maybe I am trying to sound more interesting than I really am. (And if I sound totally incoherent, it's because I've been awake since four-thirty this morning purple monkey dishwasher.)

Aaaaaanyway. Six things you probably really should know about me, if you don't already.

1. I can't accessorize worth a darn. Shoes, jewelry, purses... they don't do a thing for me. Does that mean I am going to have my girl card revoked?

2. I've still never had a pedicure.

3. My brain is filled with useless trivia... just don't ask me a geography question.

4. However, I am a really good speller.

5. I could probably go the rest of my life without buying another scrapbook supply. I'm not going to though.

6. I taught myself how to sew when I was 26 & I'm still ridiculously proud of myself for that.

Random things I'm loving right now

1. My new job - I get paid to do lab stuff all day! I've learned a bunch of new tests (they have an automatic titrator! I guess a QC lab has slightly more budget than an environmental lab) and I more or less know what I'm doing. If I had to go back to work it's nice to have something I actually enjoy.

2. New products from American Crafts

3. My minty new sewing machine: It has a blindhem and a stretch stitch! It has a light and a built-in thread cutter! It does zippers and buttonholes! (Meaning I no longer have an excuse not to make dresses for Betsy.) And it was on sale from Hancock's with free shipping. I just wish it would have arrived sooner so I could play with it more before I started working, but I'll deal with that. I think I need to find a sturdier workspace than a cheapie card table in the corner of my bedroom, because once this machine really gets going (variable speed! how 'bout that?) the whole assembly starts to shake violently.






4. Baby fat - hers, not mine.


5. Last Comic Standing on Thursday nights - although I can't believe the Israeli prop comic didn't make it to the next round.


6. My organized kitchen, now that I finally put all this stuff up last week.

I think we only spent about $15 at IKEA for all the parts (and I still have an extra wire basket that I will mount directly on the wall once I get some more wall anchors). I think the whole system would work great for a craft room, too, if you're lucky enough to have a craft room!

7. Baby elephants

8. Cheez Its - I hadn't eaten them for years and I've recently rediscovered how delicious they are. How crazy is that? They have to be the real thing, though, and not Cheese Nips or the store brand.

9. Betsy's new obsession with numbers. She took 11 bites of her scrambled eggs last night. The other day she hopped on one foot 33 times. Why 33 times? Because her daddy is 33, that's why. She's figuring out addition, too. We did some adding and subtracting with M&M's a few days ago but I think the only lesson she learned is that chocolate is delicious.

10. Blogger taking four or five attempts to publish my post (Oh sorry, this was supposed to be about things I love. That was a thing I don't love!)