Off to figure out dinner and what to do with some beans, cherry tomatoes, carrots and zucchini that doesn't require the food processor since it's loud and Mike's sleeping.
~Crys :o(
Publish Post
Sunday, August 31, 2008
Debby downer
Ever have an never ending day when all you want is to look at the clock and have it be 8pm so it can be bedtime? I'm having one and it is the shits. I hate doing it, but can't the impulse to watch each minute slowly creep by. I thought I'd never be a debby downer, but here I am, making another depressing post. Probably because I have no one I can have a real conversation with. Peanut's don't count since he never holds up his end of the conversation.
Off to figure out dinner and what to do with some beans, cherry tomatoes, carrots and zucchini that doesn't require the food processor since it's loud and Mike's sleeping.
~Crys :o(
Off to figure out dinner and what to do with some beans, cherry tomatoes, carrots and zucchini that doesn't require the food processor since it's loud and Mike's sleeping.
~Crys :o(
Friday, August 29, 2008
Friday's hate post
I haven't been taking the time to blog lately. It takes spare time that I don't have between my kiddos, the small amounts of time I get with Mike, housework, sewing, and sleep. Tonight's post isn't a super cheery one. In fact, it sucks, big time. I'm in a funk despite being able to sleep in this morning thanks to my rocking husband.
I hate Fridays. Mike has to go back to work and I'm once again back to being the married-single parent for the next 4 days. Times like tonight I hate Mike's job. I hate the guild for taking time away from his limited family time on his weekend. I hate the city job for taking him away from us every weekend night (and day too since he has to sleep). I hate having to bathe and put our kids to bed by myself. And mostly, I hate not having anyone to talk to once the kiddos are asleep. It's shitty and no one really understands how much it's shitty until they have to do it themselves - week after week for the unforeseeable future. I know it's what's best for us right now and it means no daycare is raising our children, but I still hate it. I hate it and stress about it which leads Maemae to being fussy. Peanut hates it because his mind doesn't remember that Daddy has to leave after dinner on Fridays and can't go play in the weeds (aka back yard). It's time like tonight that I try to remember it's how the bills get paid, then I say screw that and rejoin the pity party in progress.
I also hate holidays. Labor day weekend is here and I get to enjoy it with my kiddos while my husband has to sleep in order to work all fracking night long. And Mike knows his winter work schedule now and it blows even harder than the current schedule. We've been telling ourselves it's really not going to be different, but yes, it is. Still working all night only this time he gets to work all the major holidays, including the nights before and the nights after. It's depressing realizations like these that make me wish we stayed in AZ even knowing that I would of had to go back to 40 hours of work a week to make ends meet due to the humongous slowdown in guild work. At least then I would of had my husband at home in the evenings to help with our kids and to spend time with. Instead, I get to talk to myself and occasionally to the cat when she bothers to wake up and meow at me.
Now for the cheery portion of the post. Maemae has 2 bottom front teeth, can pull herself up into a wobbly standing position, and army crawls like she's been in the military for years. Peanut is putting 2-3 word sentences together, can kick a ball like David Beckham, and clearly lets us know what he doesn't want by putting his hands up in front of him and saying NO. And his new favorite movies are Ice Age and Ice Age: The Meltdown.
And few pictures of perfection.
I'm off to join my pretty girl.
TTFN ~Crys
I hate Fridays. Mike has to go back to work and I'm once again back to being the married-single parent for the next 4 days. Times like tonight I hate Mike's job. I hate the guild for taking time away from his limited family time on his weekend. I hate the city job for taking him away from us every weekend night (and day too since he has to sleep). I hate having to bathe and put our kids to bed by myself. And mostly, I hate not having anyone to talk to once the kiddos are asleep. It's shitty and no one really understands how much it's shitty until they have to do it themselves - week after week for the unforeseeable future. I know it's what's best for us right now and it means no daycare is raising our children, but I still hate it. I hate it and stress about it which leads Maemae to being fussy. Peanut hates it because his mind doesn't remember that Daddy has to leave after dinner on Fridays and can't go play in the weeds (aka back yard). It's time like tonight that I try to remember it's how the bills get paid, then I say screw that and rejoin the pity party in progress.
I also hate holidays. Labor day weekend is here and I get to enjoy it with my kiddos while my husband has to sleep in order to work all fracking night long. And Mike knows his winter work schedule now and it blows even harder than the current schedule. We've been telling ourselves it's really not going to be different, but yes, it is. Still working all night only this time he gets to work all the major holidays, including the nights before and the nights after. It's depressing realizations like these that make me wish we stayed in AZ even knowing that I would of had to go back to 40 hours of work a week to make ends meet due to the humongous slowdown in guild work. At least then I would of had my husband at home in the evenings to help with our kids and to spend time with. Instead, I get to talk to myself and occasionally to the cat when she bothers to wake up and meow at me.
Now for the cheery portion of the post. Maemae has 2 bottom front teeth, can pull herself up into a wobbly standing position, and army crawls like she's been in the military for years. Peanut is putting 2-3 word sentences together, can kick a ball like David Beckham, and clearly lets us know what he doesn't want by putting his hands up in front of him and saying NO. And his new favorite movies are Ice Age and Ice Age: The Meltdown.
And few pictures of perfection.
I'm off to join my pretty girl.
TTFN ~Crys
Thursday, August 28, 2008
Challenge+Procrastination=Eventual Satisfaction
Long time no bloggy for Mikey. I'm done with my furniture work for the day, no overtime at BOEC, and no Academy classes that I'm teaching today, Crystal is sewing, Clella is playing with the cats tail (oh boy) and Elliot is sleeping....what's a boy to do? Blog!
So, back in June...yes, June, I went on a particularly costly moving claim out in Hillsborito, a.k.a. Tortilla flats or...as the city planners call it, Hillsboro. For those of you not familiar with the Portland area...its clear out on the west side of town, on the way to the beach, about an hours drive from our house, and thats when you hit no traffic.
The shipper had a small curio cabinet that was made out of Mahogany and had some mirrored backers on 2 shelves and 2 little drawers. Needless to say...the movers destroyed this thing. Not just destroyed, anniliated it!
Obviously not something a little glue, epoxy and color was going to fix. I knew this was going to call for full on replacement of those end pieces. Everything else on the thing was fine, the shelves, the 2 drawers on the bottom and the mirrors. Somehow, all those pieces were fine...not sure how that happened, didn't much care really. So, 2 new tool purchases later (hey, I had to have them to complete the job! :) ), scroll saw and new drill press. I went to the local lumber yard to get me some mahogany that would most closely match up to the existing grain pattern. Needless to say, this thing is old....therefore, it's made of old wood. Wood that was likely sitting in some forest somewhere in the world and cut down and turned into lumber to make furniture. New Mahogany is grown in a controlled area, allowed to get just old enough to be harvested and chopped down. The grain just isn't the same, no matter how hard to search, it just doesn't exist. So, I got the closest thing I could that matched it color wise, that was a lot easier to do.
Got it home, got the new lumber on the bench....and there it sat....for weeks. I just wasn't motivated to get going on it. Well, I shouldn't have waited around, turned out to be a lot easier than I thought it was going to be. I think the reason it went so well however is because I thought about it over and over again in my head about how I was going to go about doing it. So, I was able to glue the 2 old ends together, and they had just enough material on them to produce a good template to use in order to get everything transferred over to the new lumber.
4 hours was all it took to drill and cut out all the shapes and what not. Another 2 hours of sanding making everything baby butt smooth, an hour to color, 3 hours to lacquer, and blam-O! Shes done and put together. Returned it this morning where a more than satisfied customer signed off on my work. Now she has 2 tables she wants me to refinish for her, but told her that aint going to happen til after the move! Here are the after pics.
I have a dresser in the shop now that got one of its legs torn off, hideous thing! It's painted white with green....brush strokes....all over it, it screams vomit. Since it has to get painted to be repaired, the shipper decided to go with a solid sherbert green color....its equally hideous, but at least doesn't make me want to vomit. The leg is fixed, now I have to caulk all the seams and cracks, prime it, and paint it. Want it done before vacation next week, so I gotta get cracking on it!
So, back in June...yes, June, I went on a particularly costly moving claim out in Hillsborito, a.k.a. Tortilla flats or...as the city planners call it, Hillsboro. For those of you not familiar with the Portland area...its clear out on the west side of town, on the way to the beach, about an hours drive from our house, and thats when you hit no traffic.
The shipper had a small curio cabinet that was made out of Mahogany and had some mirrored backers on 2 shelves and 2 little drawers. Needless to say...the movers destroyed this thing. Not just destroyed, anniliated it!
Obviously not something a little glue, epoxy and color was going to fix. I knew this was going to call for full on replacement of those end pieces. Everything else on the thing was fine, the shelves, the 2 drawers on the bottom and the mirrors. Somehow, all those pieces were fine...not sure how that happened, didn't much care really. So, 2 new tool purchases later (hey, I had to have them to complete the job! :) ), scroll saw and new drill press. I went to the local lumber yard to get me some mahogany that would most closely match up to the existing grain pattern. Needless to say, this thing is old....therefore, it's made of old wood. Wood that was likely sitting in some forest somewhere in the world and cut down and turned into lumber to make furniture. New Mahogany is grown in a controlled area, allowed to get just old enough to be harvested and chopped down. The grain just isn't the same, no matter how hard to search, it just doesn't exist. So, I got the closest thing I could that matched it color wise, that was a lot easier to do.
Got it home, got the new lumber on the bench....and there it sat....for weeks. I just wasn't motivated to get going on it. Well, I shouldn't have waited around, turned out to be a lot easier than I thought it was going to be. I think the reason it went so well however is because I thought about it over and over again in my head about how I was going to go about doing it. So, I was able to glue the 2 old ends together, and they had just enough material on them to produce a good template to use in order to get everything transferred over to the new lumber.
4 hours was all it took to drill and cut out all the shapes and what not. Another 2 hours of sanding making everything baby butt smooth, an hour to color, 3 hours to lacquer, and blam-O! Shes done and put together. Returned it this morning where a more than satisfied customer signed off on my work. Now she has 2 tables she wants me to refinish for her, but told her that aint going to happen til after the move! Here are the after pics.
I have a dresser in the shop now that got one of its legs torn off, hideous thing! It's painted white with green....brush strokes....all over it, it screams vomit. Since it has to get painted to be repaired, the shipper decided to go with a solid sherbert green color....its equally hideous, but at least doesn't make me want to vomit. The leg is fixed, now I have to caulk all the seams and cracks, prime it, and paint it. Want it done before vacation next week, so I gotta get cracking on it!
Friday, August 22, 2008
Stupid machine - you suck
My sewing machine sucks tonight. Every one of my tricks, except one, to fix the skipping stitches isn't working. Neither are Mom's tricks or hints I've gathered on the internet. And it was sewing so beautifully a few nights ago with not one skip stitched when I appliqued 6 shirts. And calling it a stupid f-ing thing in my mean snotty voice didn't work.
The JoAnn's ad is downstairs, taunting me to go look at the pretty, shiny, new sewing machines that are on sale and won't skip stitches. Then I remember I don't have a paying job and my frivolous spending account is closed.
Of course I already heat pressed my adorable fabric to the shirts so I can't pull off the fusible web and try a different brand.
Looks like I'm gonna have to load the kiddos up in the morning and go buy a different brand of thread. That's my last trick. Keep your fingers crossed that it works. It should be fun with Peanut - he's old enough that the fabric store is boring to him and he cries "Noooooo" in the parking lot when he realizes he has to go inside with me. Oh goody, fun times.
Stupid machine.
~Crys
The JoAnn's ad is downstairs, taunting me to go look at the pretty, shiny, new sewing machines that are on sale and won't skip stitches. Then I remember I don't have a paying job and my frivolous spending account is closed.
Of course I already heat pressed my adorable fabric to the shirts so I can't pull off the fusible web and try a different brand.
Looks like I'm gonna have to load the kiddos up in the morning and go buy a different brand of thread. That's my last trick. Keep your fingers crossed that it works. It should be fun with Peanut - he's old enough that the fabric store is boring to him and he cries "Noooooo" in the parking lot when he realizes he has to go inside with me. Oh goody, fun times.
Stupid machine.
~Crys
Friday, August 15, 2008
Project for tonight
I love it when I buy fabric AND do something with it in the same day. It's a rare occurrence, but I couldn't let this adorable flannel just sit in my pile waiting to be made into a blanket for my kiddos. It's a fairly quick project. I think the decorative border took longer to sew on than the measuring, cutting and the initial sewing together. Peanut and Maemae will love it for a cuddle blanket.
It's actually lighter than the picture shows, but my camera doesn't do well when there's no natural light around. Or I don't know the right setting to use on it.
And I have to say how much I like my Kenmore sewing machine now. I picked it up today from the shop where the service/repair man dropped it off and for $54.05 Kenny had a tune up, cleaning, and oiling on the inside. It is so much quieter now and runs so smoothly. I looked on the receipt yesterday and it's almost 9 years old. So the $54.05 spent on it's first tuning was money well spent. So if anyone needs a good repair guy, I know of one and he's quick.
Today reminded me of Arizona and one of the few things we miss from being there. It was around 100 here today so we were indoors all day with our little window a/cs and fans going nonstop. I'll keep them on through the night to let the upstairs finish cooling off. I do miss the whole house a/c from there and the tiled floors. As much as I don't like whole house tiling, in the heat it's awesome.
I'm off to bed now.
TTFN ~ Crys
It's actually lighter than the picture shows, but my camera doesn't do well when there's no natural light around. Or I don't know the right setting to use on it.And I have to say how much I like my Kenmore sewing machine now. I picked it up today from the shop where the service/repair man dropped it off and for $54.05 Kenny had a tune up, cleaning, and oiling on the inside. It is so much quieter now and runs so smoothly. I looked on the receipt yesterday and it's almost 9 years old. So the $54.05 spent on it's first tuning was money well spent. So if anyone needs a good repair guy, I know of one and he's quick.
Today reminded me of Arizona and one of the few things we miss from being there. It was around 100 here today so we were indoors all day with our little window a/cs and fans going nonstop. I'll keep them on through the night to let the upstairs finish cooling off. I do miss the whole house a/c from there and the tiled floors. As much as I don't like whole house tiling, in the heat it's awesome.
I'm off to bed now.
TTFN ~ Crys
Monday, August 11, 2008
Tired Mama
I am one tired Mama. Mike has been working a ton and therefore, so have I. We've hardly seen each other over the last 10 days and we're both looking forward to his weekend from the city job. Him to catch up on some sleep and to spend some time with our kiddos and me to sleep. Seriously, I am one very tired Mama. So tired that what sleep I have been getting has been crap and full of weird dreams. And waking up 100 times in 4 hours with only 1 time being because Maemae needed to eat. Or I dream of sewing. I really would love a day or two where I could just sew with occasional breaks to nurse Maemae and refill my drinking cup and snack bowl then hide back at my sewing machine. But for now, I'll take what I can get and be happy when I start and finish a project before being needed by my kiddos.
I love how babies sit up with such a straight back.
We don't need to buy Maemae any toys. Anything that has been touched, kicked, thrown, or just looked at by Peanut is her favorite. Or paper. She LOVES paper and half the time I have no idea where the paper she's chewing on came from. I think some books are going to have Maemae sized bite marks all over the pages. And she HATES me when I fish it out of her mouth and force her fingers open to take it. She has one very loud pissed off shriek that she lets go when I steal her paper.
Peanut's officially a two and a halfer. His half year birthday was last week and just under 6 short months, we'll be having his 3rd (holy crap 3rd!) party.
Umm, let's see what else has been going on. Maemae has 2 teeth now. They popped through last week and now I can feel 2 more gum bumps. Peanut is still not a big talker, but is picking up new words everyday. He says them out of the blue but still is silent despite being asked to say it again 100 million times. Both are the highlight of my life. I really am one of the lucky women who can say I was born to be Mama. Even when I have no energy for anything else after they're in bed, when my house is an embarrassment to look at and all my dishes are dirty, I look forward to the next time they're awake, making me smile and laugh. And tired, so very tired.
TTFN ~Crys
Tonight I re-vamped a bib pattern I had and made this.
And tonight I finished this outfit. Tomorrow is suppose to be warm enough that Maemae can wear it.
Sweet potatoes are yummy!
Peanut doesn't care that our lawn is full of weeds. He loves being outside barefoot. He's going to love being outside at our new place.
I love how babies sit up with such a straight back.
We don't need to buy Maemae any toys. Anything that has been touched, kicked, thrown, or just looked at by Peanut is her favorite. Or paper. She LOVES paper and half the time I have no idea where the paper she's chewing on came from. I think some books are going to have Maemae sized bite marks all over the pages. And she HATES me when I fish it out of her mouth and force her fingers open to take it. She has one very loud pissed off shriek that she lets go when I steal her paper.Umm, let's see what else has been going on. Maemae has 2 teeth now. They popped through last week and now I can feel 2 more gum bumps. Peanut is still not a big talker, but is picking up new words everyday. He says them out of the blue but still is silent despite being asked to say it again 100 million times. Both are the highlight of my life. I really am one of the lucky women who can say I was born to be Mama. Even when I have no energy for anything else after they're in bed, when my house is an embarrassment to look at and all my dishes are dirty, I look forward to the next time they're awake, making me smile and laugh. And tired, so very tired.
TTFN ~Crys
Saturday, August 02, 2008
My new adventure
I've decided to use the sewing talent I have to make some money. Looking for enough to support my habit and buy my kiddos frivolous things to make them happy. And maybe pay a bill or two (or three or four!) Thankfully Peanut loves being my model and doesn't mind that I take his plain boring t-shirts and jazz them up a bit. Heres my first three.
The second was better.
And the third time was a charm (except I ran out of thread and didn't have another in the exact color).
I'm now on the search for good tees in a variety of sizes and colors and some good fabric with things I can appliqué on the front of them. Yippie - another reason to go shopping!
If you have a request, let me know!
TTFN ~ C
#1 - The first wasn't so great but I had to remember how to appliqué with my machine again. The orange tee really isn't this blinding, the flash makes it look neon.
The second was better.And the third time was a charm (except I ran out of thread and didn't have another in the exact color).I'm now on the search for good tees in a variety of sizes and colors and some good fabric with things I can appliqué on the front of them. Yippie - another reason to go shopping!
If you have a request, let me know!
TTFN ~ C
Monday, July 28, 2008
July picture update
A few pictures of our latest happenings.
Peanut's new shark jammies. The pattern said they're a 3T, but they are HUGE on him. I need to redraw the pattern for his tall skinny body. But they are really cute.
Peanut doesn't wear his shoes half the time he's outside but when we said put your shoes on, mine were the only ones near the door this outside trip.
Maemae having some avacado.
Maemae pondering why Mama milk is coming out of a hard plastic cup instead of the normal softness.
That's all. I'm off to bed.
TTFN ~Crys
Clella army crawling in a romper I made for her.
Peanut's new shark jammies. The pattern said they're a 3T, but they are HUGE on him. I need to redraw the pattern for his tall skinny body. But they are really cute.
Peanut doesn't wear his shoes half the time he's outside but when we said put your shoes on, mine were the only ones near the door this outside trip.
Maemae having some avacado.
Maemae pondering why Mama milk is coming out of a hard plastic cup instead of the normal softness.
That's all. I'm off to bed.
TTFN ~Crys
Saturday, July 05, 2008
I love craigs list
I love browsing craigs list in the baby/kids section and for sewing things. I've gotten a few things off it for good prices and Mom found a great sewing machine in a cute desk with a chair a couple weeks ago. On Wednesday night, I looked at an ad on there for a vintage singer sewing machine and desk, works great. I went to bed and woke up thinking I should of sent an email to go look at that. They wanted $50, that's it. So I called and left a message. Then I emailed just in case. And heard nothing for a few hours. I got home from a Joann's trip and the lady called me back. So I called her and arranged to go look at her machine that afternoon.
I got there, Mike and kiddos in the car, and the gal showed it to me. It was in the garage. The garage?! I know no one who has their machine in the garage. Turns out this was her moms and the gal doesn't sew. Whooo hoo for me. Her husband plugged it in, turned it on and ran it, and I had to have it. He and Mike loaded it up in the missile and off it went to my house.
I cleaned it up this morning while Maemae napped and got to working on it. It sounds great when running, sewing beautifully, and I'm thinking was pretty high class back in the 70s when it came out. The manual (the original manual was in the drawer!) has 1971 as it's copywrite date. I am the proud mama of a Singer zig-zag 413 sewing machine in a fairly good condition sewing desk. Little does that gal know I would of paid $100 for it.
I got there, Mike and kiddos in the car, and the gal showed it to me. It was in the garage. The garage?! I know no one who has their machine in the garage. Turns out this was her moms and the gal doesn't sew. Whooo hoo for me. Her husband plugged it in, turned it on and ran it, and I had to have it. He and Mike loaded it up in the missile and off it went to my house.
I cleaned it up this morning while Maemae napped and got to working on it. It sounds great when running, sewing beautifully, and I'm thinking was pretty high class back in the 70s when it came out. The manual (the original manual was in the drawer!) has 1971 as it's copywrite date. I am the proud mama of a Singer zig-zag 413 sewing machine in a fairly good condition sewing desk. Little does that gal know I would of paid $100 for it.
Here she is. I think I'll call her Sally.
I'm already working on some Peanut shorts with it. It will make me sewing downstairs so much better since I can fold it down into the desk to keep Peanut from sewing on it himself. Or trying to pull all the thread off the spool. And I have 2 drawers to put my stuff in to keep it clean and organized looking. It's sitting in the dining area in front of a window so if Peanut is outside, I can see him while I sew. Not sure where it'll go once we move, but I'll figure that out in 2 1/2 months.
TTFN. Off to play some more with Sally. I love craigs list. It's like yard sale shopping while it's raining outside.
~Crys
TTFN. Off to play some more with Sally. I love craigs list. It's like yard sale shopping while it's raining outside.
~Crys
Scary face Baby
This is Peanut's #2 Gloworm baby. He lovingly calls her "Baby" and likes to chew on her face. He has two of them, #3 was much much worse. #3 is called Scary Chewed-up Face Gloworm. Two nights ago, we discovered a chunk of Gloworm's face wedged inbetween 2 of his front teeth. Wedged so high and tight that Mike and I both had to hold him down, hold his mouth open, and use a toothpick to pick it out. And then his poor little gums bled because it was so tight up there. So, we had to take both of them away from him. I had to leave the room to tend to Maemae and because Elliot begging for Baby was breaking my heart. Mike couldn't take it any longer either and ended up taking the plastic face off #3 and sewing the hood shut, then giving it back to Peanut. I'll get a picture of that one later. It creeps me out big time, but Peanut clutched onto her like she's his lifeline so she'll stick around.
Fast foward to yesterday at naptime. Creep hood face gloworm has never been his favorite, hence why she's #3. After throwing her out of bed 2 times and breaking my heart with his baby pleas while ripping his bed apart, I decided to fix gloworm #2 for him.
Fast foward to yesterday at naptime. Creep hood face gloworm has never been his favorite, hence why she's #3. After throwing her out of bed 2 times and breaking my heart with his baby pleas while ripping his bed apart, I decided to fix gloworm #2 for him.
#2 before surgery
TTFN ~Crys
Friday, July 04, 2008
Friday, June 27, 2008
A few pics
A few pictures from the last few days. I've been sewing at the dinner table while Maemae takes her morning nap and Peanut plays outside or watches a movie. It's not ideal for me; I run upstairs a lot for things I need then end up with a pile to take back upstairs when I'm done. But, I did get Maemae's 4th of July romper done. It's uber adorable. And Maemae already put her touch on it: spit up chunky milk on the front and had a poopy diaper leak on the back.
I've gotten a few diapers sewn together over the last few days as well. I would have more but my upstairs machine and I are on a break. Kenmore has decided to not sew properly and I don't have the time yet to sit and make up with it. So my good old reliable Brother was put up downstairs and she's been a champ. For me, the more basic a machine is, the better I like it. No fancy shmancy sewing machines for me.
Maemae turned 6 months last week. She had her check up and is doing well. She's 15 lbs 10 oz and 26 inches tall. The doc doesn't think she'll reach 20 pounds by her first birthday. We'll see. Here's her checking to see if Daddy was still at the end of the table. She was fascinated by seeing herself and us in the mirror.
And I can't leave Peanut's picture out of the blog. He's so quick that it's difficult to get a good picture of him. This is the best my crappy camera could do tonight. He had a haircut a couple nights ago and we won't be doing that again. Too stressful for him and for Mama. From now on, it's a quick trim with scissors until he gets older and understands what's going on better.
Weeding our crappy lawn again. Sigh, our landlord is an idiot who doesn't care one ounce about the backyard (or her house). And we refuse to do more than the minimal weeding that is necessary.
We are officially moving, AGAIN, in September. To another rental house about 1/2 mile away from here. But it's a ranch and has front and back lawn care included. No more mowing the lawn until we buy a house. We don't want to rent again, but need to take care of a little more debt before we can get a good mortgage. We're excited about no stairs, no lawn work, closer to the park, and lower rent. Not so excited to move our stuff again and that it's 400 sq. foot smaller than this house, but we'll make it work and be happy. I'm already starting to go through stuff and purging.
That's about it for now. Both kiddos are sleeping, laundry is going, and I'm off to set up my serger to finish a pair of capri's for Maemae.
TTFN ~Crys
I've gotten a few diapers sewn together over the last few days as well. I would have more but my upstairs machine and I are on a break. Kenmore has decided to not sew properly and I don't have the time yet to sit and make up with it. So my good old reliable Brother was put up downstairs and she's been a champ. For me, the more basic a machine is, the better I like it. No fancy shmancy sewing machines for me.
Maemae turned 6 months last week. She had her check up and is doing well. She's 15 lbs 10 oz and 26 inches tall. The doc doesn't think she'll reach 20 pounds by her first birthday. We'll see. Here's her checking to see if Daddy was still at the end of the table. She was fascinated by seeing herself and us in the mirror.
And I can't leave Peanut's picture out of the blog. He's so quick that it's difficult to get a good picture of him. This is the best my crappy camera could do tonight. He had a haircut a couple nights ago and we won't be doing that again. Too stressful for him and for Mama. From now on, it's a quick trim with scissors until he gets older and understands what's going on better.Weeding our crappy lawn again. Sigh, our landlord is an idiot who doesn't care one ounce about the backyard (or her house). And we refuse to do more than the minimal weeding that is necessary.
We are officially moving, AGAIN, in September. To another rental house about 1/2 mile away from here. But it's a ranch and has front and back lawn care included. No more mowing the lawn until we buy a house. We don't want to rent again, but need to take care of a little more debt before we can get a good mortgage. We're excited about no stairs, no lawn work, closer to the park, and lower rent. Not so excited to move our stuff again and that it's 400 sq. foot smaller than this house, but we'll make it work and be happy. I'm already starting to go through stuff and purging.
That's about it for now. Both kiddos are sleeping, laundry is going, and I'm off to set up my serger to finish a pair of capri's for Maemae.
TTFN ~Crys
Saturday, June 14, 2008
Latest Happenings
It's the middle of June, already. That's what I thought all day today. Wow, time has been flying by and I'm barely keeping up. Both kiddos are doing very well. Peanut has had a language explosion and is saying new words everyday along with 2 or 3 word sentences on a regular basis. All that worrying I did about maybe needing a speech therapist was for nothing. That will teach me to worry. Maemae is getting so big. She's trying to sit up unaided, trying to crawl, and HATES it when Peanut goes out of her sight. Peanut is her best entertainment and she watches him every chance she gets. It's so worth watching them interact with each other. The love is obvious in how gentle Peanut is with her and how concerned he is when she fusses and cries. And he loves to kiss and hug her. Plus when I ask if he loves his Sissy Maemae, he gets a huge smile on his face and nods repeatedly as if he's saying yes, very much.
We haven't been up to much lately. Well, I haven't been. Mike's been busy working his butt off at 911 and with the Guild. Guild work has picked up a little bit and I think will slowly pick up a little more over the summer then taper off when the winter gets here. I've been sewing a little. My latest project was finished tonight - Peanut's 4th of July shirt. Maemae will have a little dress out of the same fabric so they'll be matching but I have to get a different pattern for her. The one I have isn't good for summer time since it's lined and has a petticoat. I'll have to check out the pattern company's websites and make a list so I don't have to torture Peanut by looking at the books in the fabric store. Maybe we'll stop there on the way to Mom and Dads tomorrow. I'd like to have her dress done in the week or so since the 4th is almost here.
I'm been making some diapers for Maemae and have 7 cut out right now. They sew up really quickly but it's not something I want to try to do when I'm tired because the outer waterproof fabric can't have any mess ups on it. I calculated last week by switching to cloth, we're saving around $200 a month on disposables. Yep 200 big ones! And it's only around $20 a month in utilities to wash and dry the cloth diapers. Once the sun is here, they can dry outside and save a little more. I can't wait to get stocked up once Maemae's are done and be disposable free. At least in our home. Mom and Dad can still use them when they watch Peanut for us.
And now for the part I think everyone wants. The latest kiddo pics.
Lounging on Peanut's foldout couch.
Taking a break in the toy box.
Riding his wet bike during a brief break from the rain.
Happy 4th of July shirt. I really like how it turned out.
The Domke/Domke-Grimm Garden! It's at Mom and Dads. It's finally planted and everything is coming up. I can't wait to see it tomorrow and see how much everything has grown in 3 days. It's all fenced to keep the dogs and critters out and has a chair in the corner for taking a break. Dad even rigged up a sprinkler to a post so they don't have to stand out there watering it. It's all organic too, no yucky pesticides for us.
Digging in a mole hole.
A tractor ride with Papa is a must each time we're there.
That's all. I'm off to hang up my diapers to finish drying and going to bed.
Happy Father's Day to the dads out there, especially mine and my hubby. XOXO
TTFN ~Crys
We haven't been up to much lately. Well, I haven't been. Mike's been busy working his butt off at 911 and with the Guild. Guild work has picked up a little bit and I think will slowly pick up a little more over the summer then taper off when the winter gets here. I've been sewing a little. My latest project was finished tonight - Peanut's 4th of July shirt. Maemae will have a little dress out of the same fabric so they'll be matching but I have to get a different pattern for her. The one I have isn't good for summer time since it's lined and has a petticoat. I'll have to check out the pattern company's websites and make a list so I don't have to torture Peanut by looking at the books in the fabric store. Maybe we'll stop there on the way to Mom and Dads tomorrow. I'd like to have her dress done in the week or so since the 4th is almost here.
I'm been making some diapers for Maemae and have 7 cut out right now. They sew up really quickly but it's not something I want to try to do when I'm tired because the outer waterproof fabric can't have any mess ups on it. I calculated last week by switching to cloth, we're saving around $200 a month on disposables. Yep 200 big ones! And it's only around $20 a month in utilities to wash and dry the cloth diapers. Once the sun is here, they can dry outside and save a little more. I can't wait to get stocked up once Maemae's are done and be disposable free. At least in our home. Mom and Dad can still use them when they watch Peanut for us.
And now for the part I think everyone wants. The latest kiddo pics.
Laughing at Peanut one morning while I made breakfast.
Lounging on Peanut's foldout couch.Taking a break in the toy box.Riding his wet bike during a brief break from the rain.Happy 4th of July shirt. I really like how it turned out.The Domke/Domke-Grimm Garden! It's at Mom and Dads. It's finally planted and everything is coming up. I can't wait to see it tomorrow and see how much everything has grown in 3 days. It's all fenced to keep the dogs and critters out and has a chair in the corner for taking a break. Dad even rigged up a sprinkler to a post so they don't have to stand out there watering it. It's all organic too, no yucky pesticides for us.Digging in a mole hole.A tractor ride with Papa is a must each time we're there.That's all. I'm off to hang up my diapers to finish drying and going to bed.
Happy Father's Day to the dads out there, especially mine and my hubby. XOXO
TTFN ~Crys
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
Work Work Work!
Today I had a repair job to go do down at the Beach, Manzanita Oregon to be exact. It's a short 2.5 hour drive one way. The weather wasn't all that bad so we decided to make it a family excursion. So, Crystal got up super early (before my alarm went off at 6), I feel back to sleep after the alarm went off :) and we were out the door about 7:30. After a quick stop at Sonic for breakfast and a quick trip to home depot to get a new coping saw that I forgot to grab, we were on our way at last. We pulled into their drive way at 11:00....you do the math :)
I arrived to find the following damage....
So, after looking at the chair first hand, I decided I could fix it on-site at the peoples house, and there was no need to haul it all the way home just to haul it all the way back. So, I told Crystal I'd need about an hour and she decided to take the kids down to the "main drag" in Manzanita and look around. Needless to say, if you've ever been there, there isn't much to look at. But somehow they managed to kill almost an hour. We had cell phone coverage so I was able to call her and say "I'm all done, come get me". We had originally planned to either pick up the chair and go play on the beach, or fix it and then go play on the beach, but the weather wasnt all that great, it was lunch time when I finished the chair, and Elliot was quickly running out of fuel and needed a nap. So, I finished up the chair, got the shipper to sign off on the repairs, and off to lunch we went. Found a little hole in the wall dive to get some fish and chips (what else do you eat at the beach?), Elliot a grilled cheese sandwich, of which he took 0 bites, then it was a fresh diaper for each kiddo and back in their car seats to start the drive home. Elliot slept for about an hour of it, which was wayyyy longer than I thought he would, but no where near as long as he needed. He got an early bed time and went down with little fuss. Over all, a pretty good day. I got to see the family (which is something that comes rarely these days) so I have no complaints...oh, and as for the chair? Well....
I arrived to find the following damage....
So, after looking at the chair first hand, I decided I could fix it on-site at the peoples house, and there was no need to haul it all the way home just to haul it all the way back. So, I told Crystal I'd need about an hour and she decided to take the kids down to the "main drag" in Manzanita and look around. Needless to say, if you've ever been there, there isn't much to look at. But somehow they managed to kill almost an hour. We had cell phone coverage so I was able to call her and say "I'm all done, come get me". We had originally planned to either pick up the chair and go play on the beach, or fix it and then go play on the beach, but the weather wasnt all that great, it was lunch time when I finished the chair, and Elliot was quickly running out of fuel and needed a nap. So, I finished up the chair, got the shipper to sign off on the repairs, and off to lunch we went. Found a little hole in the wall dive to get some fish and chips (what else do you eat at the beach?), Elliot a grilled cheese sandwich, of which he took 0 bites, then it was a fresh diaper for each kiddo and back in their car seats to start the drive home. Elliot slept for about an hour of it, which was wayyyy longer than I thought he would, but no where near as long as he needed. He got an early bed time and went down with little fuss. Over all, a pretty good day. I got to see the family (which is something that comes rarely these days) so I have no complaints...oh, and as for the chair? Well....
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