happy birthday little one

dear sweet little katherine,
when we found out you were a girl, the boys all high fived and cheered. i smiled, and secretly started to make quilts, dress you up and started picturing your room in my head. we've all been waiting for so long to hear the words "it's a girl" (especially your oldest brother) that we walked away all giddy. we called everyone up and told them "IT'S A GIRL" and no one believed us they thought we were joking. (cause we're jokesters your father and i and we would pull something like that but we didn't!)

some things about you right now:

*you love babies *you love your new high heels and don't go anywhere without them, you especially love the "clippity clop" sound they make on the hard wood floors *you love to cook *you love to pretend to sew *you give the best nasty look known to man kind *you give away smiles only to those you trust, and every day everyone has to gain that trust if it's not me your dad or your brothers. *you seem to love the color pink, it could be an eating utensil or a gun, but if it's pink you want it. *you love purses *you love spaghetti *you love to play outside *you absolutely love to be on a swing *you love to sing *you sang for two weeks straight "daddy....ddddaaaaadddyyy...dady....daddy...daddy" while your dad was here. *you love the commotion we call your brothers *you love when they pay attention to you *you hate when anyone else shows attention to you. *you love to organize things (that thrills and scares me) *you love to do anything mommy-ish...

happy 2nd birthday little one...can't wait for all the years to come.

the start of my photowall

i've been wanting to do this for over a year. my best friend ginger had a full wall dedicated to pictures and since then i've always have wanted to do it, well this is the start of my photo wall located in my hall way. the idea is that i will just keep adding as time goes on. there's no rhyme or reason to it except the black frames ( i'm going to paint the red one black) and i want to add random plates and hoops with fabric as well. i absolutely love love love it and think it makes my hall very cozy, warm and brings a smile to my face every time i pass it.

back to basics:: the magazine

first off thank you guys for the past two weeks of encouraging words and kindness. i went back yesterday to the last two weeks posts...and those words were much needed. i had a really bad day yesterday, i'll spare too many details but this time around the next day after dropping him off at the airport was harder than the first time. the first time there was a lot of crying and a headache but then it was done, this time there was no real hard crying but just emotionally i felt like i got hit by a truck pretty sure it was one of the worst days i've had in a long time, so i decided to take an "emotional day" and did absolutely nothing but lie in bed read magazines and feed the kids. pretty sure the tv stayed on all the live long day with cartoons on it. yes mother of the year, send your nominations this way.
but as the day went on and as i looked at old magazines i've realized something...i MISS reading and looking at magazines. it's been replaced with just looking at websites of these magazines and i like it but there's something about magazines.
so i'm going to do something that's been a long time coming. simplifying. i'm taking time for me to be more slow...i'm going to sit and read a magazine and not just while waiting in line at the store or while i'm sitting in the car waiting for the kids to get out of school...but sometime during the day, i'm going to sit.and.look.at.a.magazine...

our last 24 hours together...

you were right this time his leaving is harder than the first time. he leaves tomorrow morning... early morning. i'm dreading the 3 hour drive home from the airport becuase i'll have all that time to just sit and think, i'm dreading getting used to not having around again, i'm dreading every night not watching "our shows" together or being able to talk to him right before we close our eyes, i'm dreading the kids asking "whens dad coming home?"..."have you talked to dad? is he okay?"...i'm dreading doing parent teacher conferences and coming home to no one to tell how smart our kids are and to secretly snicker at what antics our 8 year old has pulled lately...i'm dreading a lot, but i've already done 7 months. more than half way is already done, i can do it, i know i can...but unfortunately right now the rest of this deployment is hanging over my head because of how wonderful it was to have him around, how much easier it is to parent our children when he's around, and how much more at ease i am when he's around. well i'm going to do what i always do ...hold on tight to anything just to keep the sanity.

my before and after::the kitchen

can i just tell you that i cried when i saw that this was the only option for me when we were looking to move into this town? we were looking to buy when there were no other houses on the market and this was it...you've seen the living room , the bedrooms here and here (and there's more but i'm still working on my bedroom!) and the outside well here's the kitchen then...
love the lacquer and the vintage '70s nasty handles and dark wood...oh and looove the microwave mounted on the metal shelves thing...well my GI joe husband and i had lots of plans, but we're one of those type of couples that stress over borrowing on credit cards...so we started saving over a year ago... and we went through almost all of the money but i love what he's done with it!
see that new oven...that's the nicest oven i've EVER had! i cooked on it tonight and it scared me to death to ruin something on it...it's my new neurotic problem...keeping the oven clean and safe from yuckiness...wonderful like i need any more ocd issues...
we tried to buy a new sink but all the newer sinks were too big so we stuck with the old one and that meant i could spend a little more on the faucet...i loooove my faucet, still nothing too fancy but once again the nicest faucet i've EVER had...

i still need to buy some handles for the cabinets to match the drawer handles, and i still need to patch up some nail marks in the wall from the gross mounted microwave, but all in all i FINALLY LOVE MY KITCHEN! all thanks to my wonderful GI joe husband's hard work.

*oh and i'm still trying to figure out if i like the yellow-y brown tanish looking color on the wall behind the cabinets...any suggestions, comments or love?

kitchen counters sneak peak...

it's almost all done people! and our time is growing short (sob) but it was great...

GI joe husband does good work

i'm finally able to put some of my dishes back in the cabinets, we're working on the doors today. i asked him why he was doing this while on his leave and his answer was "cause i know it would make you happy." yes it does, but not for the same reasons he thinks. he thinks i want them done...but while we work together on the counters and the painting all i can think is "this is what i want our life to be like, always working side by side, because that's when i'm happiest."

pj's made by me

oh oh people i don't have enough to make all those that want them, i will figure out how many i can make out of these particular sheets, and then i will also show you guys some other sheets if you are still interested in purchasing the pj's made out of other sheets! thank you for liking them!
just wanted to see if i could make pants...and i love them. these little pj's fit a 12 to 18 months old. i'm thinking of making more and selling them for $4 in different sizes. these were made out of a second hand find sheet. well did you expect any thing else from me?

park city:: part deux

i was pretty lame and didn't take hardly any pictures. but we had a blast, i think we just started a tradition...

since you been home...

there's a few things i've noticed since you've been home.

*i missed you more than i thought i did.

*the kids REALLY love having you around and want your attention at all times.

*we do much more fun things when you are around (like bbq's and smores)

*i've missed you

*katie absolutely loves her daddy.

*i've laughed more in the past few days than in the last 7 months.

*you are the hardest worker i know (since you been home you've already put in new counter tops, mowed the yards, cleaned out the garage, and are currently painting my kitchen cabinets)

*i'm pretty damn lucky to of married you

*you make me want to be a better person

*did i already mention that i've missed you?

park city

last night we got to check into our "home for a few days" um... i wish i could call it my home, it was ginormous (it's one of those timeshare thingys that my in laws have). we can't use it till wednesday because of the small little thing we call "kids being in school" but we figured if we could leave after school on wednesday and get all their work for thursday and friday we will be good.
GI joe husband offered (after i gently suggested) taking a picture of yours truly for the blog since usually you only see my feet...yeah, he then offered to take "other" kind of pictures later after the kids were to be in bed, with a smirk, which i quickly just pretended like i didn't even hear it. he's such a funny jokester that GI joe husband of mine. hahaha..ha...ha..hmmm...

harvesting and interviews...

today we are picking apples from our apple trees and we've already gone to home depot for my NEW COUNTER TOPS which GI Joe is currently working on... gosh i miss him...and i love having him around...the kids love it too...well katie's verdict is still out but she's slowly warming up to the man she only sees in pictures and who's voice she only hears on the phone...she's only had him around for a total of 8 months out the 24 months she's been with us...sigh...

so while in the car on our trip out to home depot i asked the boys minus katie who just gibber jabbered "dada daaadaaa dada daaadaa" the whole entire time to the store (45 minutes away) i interviewed the boys while in close quarters and with no way of escaping...and here are thier answers:

1.what does mom always say to you?

nate: "where did all your socks go?" it's true he's down to two pairs...its a mystery although i have a good idea...
ryan:"get your socks and shoes on."
kyle: clean my room?
GI joe husband: what are you doing? i mean what is this all about? i need to know exactly what i'm answering this for. wait, is this going on the blog? ugh...of course it is, okay fine... you always say to me "jake, when are you going to get (fill in the blank) done?" nice...

2. what makes mom happy?

nate: um...um...when i help you?
ryan: when i clean my room.
kyle: i love you I LOVE YOU! yes that makes me very happy
GI joe husband: shopping seriously? that's what you think? i guess that's kind of true

3.what makes mom sad?

nate: when i don't repent some things that nate's not "repented" of recently 1. flooding my garage with a hose and a sprinkler head just to see what would happen...it went for 3 hours before i caught on. 2. breaking numerous things all around the back yard, and in the house and when asked "why?" his answer usually went a little something like " i had no idea that would happen." 3. breaking my windshield wipers by sliding down my windshield because it "looks like a slide" 4. smearing soap all over the boy's bathroom mirrors at school because he wanted to see his hand prints 5. returning to class with his shirt completely stuffed with paper towels (i have not idea why i don't think he knows why either...these are just to name a few in the past few weeks.
ryan: um...when i don't clean my room?
kyle: i don't know
GI joe husband: our kids please take note of the above answer on most recently not "repented" incidents that's probably why he said that.

4. what does mom do to make you laugh?
GI joe husband in the back ground "oh boy"
nate: when you say "what's up" surfer style
ryan: you running after nate and nate running away from you! oh my gosh, i most definitely do NOT find that funny.
kyle: I DON'T KNOW i think he's done playing
GI joe husband: there's a lot that you do that is funny, it's hard to pick just one... i think this is silly and dumb. hold on still got 5 more questions

5. how old is mommy?

nate:31
ryan: 16 no 20 i love you
kyle: 20-60-1 what in the world?
GI joe husband: 32 right on the money

6. how tall is mom?

nate: 6 feet
ryan:8 inches
kyle: crickets chirping definitely not playing anymore
GI joe husband: 5 ft 1inches right on the money

7.what does mom like to do?

nate: shop
ryan: play around
kyle: not talking to me anymore
GI joe husband: talk about crafts and think up of projects for me to do. hahaha nice.

8.what's mom's job?

nate: help us to obey and help us get better at repenting he makes me really tired have i mentioned that before? someday i'm going to laugh at all his antics i'm sure of it.
ryan:help us get money...i'm hungry.
kyle: ignoring me completely
GI joe husband: single mom of the year

9. what's mom's favorite food?

nate: spaghetti
ryan:corn
kyle: didn't even ask him
GI joe husband: anything i don't like (case and point what i did for his birthday)

10. how do you know mom loves you?

nate:you ALWAYS hug us
ryan: you help me clean my room
kyle: crickets still chirping
GI joe husband: your still here aren't you smart a**

mid deployment reunion

to be continued...

kindness...

a wonderful friend from wisconsin was kind enough to share part of her wonderful second hand find, this gorgeous quilt block with pieces to fix the "much loved" areas. i got it in the mail yesterday. i'm planning on fixing, framing, and putting it in katie's room, thank you so much for your kindness!

and then my friend who everyone thinks we're related because we kind of look alike brought over fresh corn from her garden. we had corn on the cob and it was grand. i am truly blessed.

did i mention only one more day till you know what? i can see where this is going...WHEN HE GETS HOME!! NOT SEX geez...dirty minds

3:55 pm is when his plane gets here. i can't hardly focus on anything.

i'm a mess.

tutorial:: how to make a pinwheel

so it's quilt month over at mr monkeysuit and i decided to join the fun. for my little tidbit i've decided to make a tutorial on how to make a pinwheel, so you too can make a quilt like my little katie's
first you need four squares two of a color and two of white (these babies are 5x5)

next draw a line down the middle of the white squares
next take a color block and a white block and sew down 1/4 of an inch on one side of the line you drew.
next flip it around and do the same to the other side, do this to both sets of squares and then cut down the middle where your pencil line is...
after you have cut down the middle where your pencil mark is, open up your square, and press open. you now have 4 squares half white and half color.

next cut off the nubbins
then lay it out like so. when you sew your block together it's helpful for me to go from left to right and top to bottom.
like so...
and now you have your pinwheel!

this is the start of my new pinwheel quilt that is going at the end of my bed.

any questions? please feel free to ask!

a thank you and a winner

my house did get decorated for the fall, but thats about all i did...

well i just want to thank you all for the so very nice comments and well wishes! THANK YOU!yes we're pretty excited to say the least. it's been too long you know? anyways here's your winner i used that random.org thing and i have to say it's pretty cool....it picked # 54 and yes i counted them up and twinkle twinkle baby, twinkle twinkle is the winner so give me your address at vanessa_christenson[at]yahoo[dot]com so i can send out your little cute bag! oh and by the way your little girl is adorable !

well i totally did NOT get everything (or anything) done last week that i was planning in my head to get done because i got the pms-ing thing going on, seriously it comes as a total surprise every single month. you would think that i would know the routine:

phone call to a friend "i think i'm going crazy, everyone and everything is making me cry or have an internal animosity towards them... this is it i can't hold on anymore it was good while it lasted you know holding on to dear life, well the last finger is slipping, oh and i've gained 5 pounds and i'm eating everything in sight! WHAT'S WRONG WITH ME?!!!!" and then the next day it all makes sense...

my husband usually was the one to tell me (gently because if not i would of bitten his head off) "uh look at the calendar..." and i wouldn't believe him, thought he was wrong and this was it i wasn't going to be able to hold up the house the crafts or my end of the bargain in life... and then the next day it would all make sense...so why is it a surprise every single month?

anywho...

i'm back ... and am now enjoying life again, no more dangling from one pinkie...well okay still dangling from one pinkie but still thinking i can handle it...

so the next three days will be spent finishing all the cleaning that i started and going to the gym and maybe finishing the quilt for my bed...but if nothing gets done, none of it will matter because i'm seeing G.I. Joe husband on thursday!!!!!!!

here's to overplanning my time and trying to accomplish too much while still trying to be a "good" mom! bull by the horns people, bull by the horns. (well until next month when it all comes crashing down and it's all a surprise all over again!)

giveaway

my husband is coming in less than 10 days for his 2 week leave so i'm feeling *HAPPY* and i'm taking a week off of blogging to clean, and create before my hubby comes back so i thought i would leave you all with a little giveaway. so leave a comment and win this cute little girl bag for free. i'll pick a winner next monday have a good week!