Project #2

I don't have pictures to post today. It was a long, hectic day. Our septic decided to back up/clog today. I took the kids to my in-laws while Husband and the landlord problem solved. Sparing you all the details, I'll keep it simple and just say that we have flushing toilets again.

I decided, for my second project, that I would crochet a bag made out of pajama pants. This post will be loads more fun once pictures are included, but try to stick with me here. I cut the pants (four pairs total) into strips and connected them, creating a large ball of yarn. The bag turned out ....uniquely enough that I may actually use it! The project took a bit longer than I thought it would. I assumed that I would get farther along in the bag than I did with less than four pairs of pants. Finding pants wasn't a challenge, though.

Once the tedious (and slightly annoying) task of cutting the pants and attaching the strips was completed, I knocked the bag out quickly; which made sense considering I used a Q sized hook. For you non-crocheters, that's bigger around than a drum stick.

After I have the chance to include some pictures, I'll update on the kids as well. It's been fun around here!

Project #1

I did end up doing the cork board. It was a lot of fun! I don't have a lot of time to post right now. The kids are asleep and I need to shower because once they're up we're meeting up with Grandma to go bowling.

The hardest part about this project was cutting the corks. My helpful Husband was testing out a few knives to see which would be the sharpest for me to use. The winner was the a ~4" saw blade on a Gerber. I was nervous the entire time, afraid that the blade would slip and one of my fingers would bite the dust. Erring on the side of caution prevailed; I still have all of my fingers.

The cutting of the corks took a bit longer than I had anticipated and left my right shoulder achy and my hand stiff. I think roughly 40 corks were cut in half for this project. I could have cut more but I didn't feel like it! So there! I had just the frame I would use for the purposes of this project. During our move, one of our picture frames was mishandled resulting in broken glass. I was excited that I held onto the thing, though, because I was able to upcycle the frame! Bittersweet. For the sake of making sure the corks would fit comfortably, I placed them in the frame without gluing and then took them out in the same order.

Side note: I really need to find a decent enough corner of my house designated for photos. I'm by no means a photographer, so forgive the stuff that shows up wanting to be included in my shots.

I used a glue gun for the corks and buzzed right along, kids notwithstanding.

Progress pose.

As it turns out, I may have been a little too careful placing the corks in their place upon gluing because I ended up with some unsightly gaps. I was willing to forgive these gaps because, well, it's my first time doing a cork board, and I wasn't about to try to pry them off after having already glued them. Especially with the kids around.

Here's the finished product!

Lovely corks. Hand cut. By me!

This ended up being a wedding gift to a couple that I know. I hope they enjoy it!

Another side note: I feel compelled to add here that these wine corks have been accumulated over a long span of time; not all of these were from bottles that I consumed. I promise I do not have a drinking problem! I have an embarrassingly low tolerance for alcohol, actually.

No pictures this time.

My computer is currently out of commission so I don't have easy access to my latest pictures. After an injury it sustained a short number of months ago it has finally kicked the can. Until further notice I'll be borrowing my Husband's computer. If you have a burning desire to know what happened, here's the scoop:

In the midst of a frustrating spat with Elijah and my iPod (in that he wouldn't put it away so that we could go take a nap), I snatched it from him and tossed it onto the couch. I had forgotten that the thing was charging and therefore attached to my computer, because once the slack from the cord was out, it bounced back and smacked into the screen. Left a pretty little shatter mark and everything, right in the top left corner. It slowly got worse. All the small child finger poking, accidental bumps, and retaliating smacks (courtesy of Emily) it became rapidly worse for wear and soon I was only able to see through the bottom half-ish. Well, today it started to get a strange, white, screen/mesh appearance in the areas that were still visible and not manipulated by cracks and bleeding ink looking stuff. I asked our roommate J if I could bum some available space on his external hard drive until the laptop can be replaced. The only thing I have on my computer that I even care about are pictures, so it was easy enough. Thank goodness we did it when we did because less than 20 minutes after we backed up the white meshy areas in my monitor turned white and nothing was visible anymore.

In other news, I've been particularly crafty and have been cranking out a lot of fun projects. I cut out the alphabet and put it up in the kids' room, I stained some glass votive holders, am cutting out the kids' name in felt and sewing/stuffing/hanging the letters, and even upcycled a Melissa & Doug playdough box into a key hanging spot (pictures when I have access). Also, in an attempt do a stash buster with my yarn, I made some dryer balls. Throughout this craftiness I've been reminded a few times of my sister's 365 project. She is of natural born talent in the photography department and committed herself to taking one photograph every day for a year. While it would be unreasonable to get any worthy craft completed in 24 hours, we did discuss the possibilities of a 52 project: one project a week for a year. So I think I will start now. My first project will be a cork board made out of the wine corks that me and my mom have accumulated. I'll post pictures every Sunday...somehow.

Unpacking!

Oy, while the move has officially been completed, we are still unpacking! It's been a "one step forward, two steps back" sort of ordeal, what with Emily's "hellion on wheels" mentality. You can see her path of destruction. The door to the DVD rack open, movies in a heap on the floor. A few feet from that, papers torn out of a box that I was attempting to sort through near my desk. Then, just another couple of feet, an empty container laying next to a pile of puffs. This is with in minutes. It's incredible. The phone rings, making lunch, helping Elijah in the bathroom...she chooses her moments carefully.

Psh. Ma's crazy. I'm innocent!

So, the house came with washer and dryer hookups...and while we didn't actually own a washer or dryer, a generous relative had an older set in her garage and let us come pick them up from her-free of charge! Husband didn't really scope them out because, well, they were free so what difference did it make? Let's just say he could have saved himself some backache if he had inspected! The washer was (to put it delicately) ancient and held a load that wouldn't have supported a set of bed sheets. Plus, during the test run, the pipes leaked.

It wasn't the most exciting news that we were in the market for a washing machine; they're sorta expensive. Craigslist didn't have anything that seemed worth it...so Husband and J went shopping while I hung at home with the kids. They came home with a screamin' deal. Who knew that most places don't actually cary most washers in stock and that you have to have them delivered? We certainly didn't! Luckily, they had a washer big enough for what we required, in stock at the warehouse (thankfully close by), and because it was the last one in stock and they weren't planning on getting more in---we received a discount on top of it already being on sale! Now, needless to say, the kids have a new plaything. (Note: The triangular piece of cardboard to the right was deemed a "saw" by Elijah, and a moving box full of toys was successfully dismantled.)

I attended my second craft fair over the weekend. This one was far less "hoppin'" than the last one, I can only assume that's because the first one was a Holiday Fair. And while I didn't sell nearly as much as before, it was almost more exciting because someone recognized me from the Holiday Fair! Also, I was able to visit with a different woman who wanted to sell my lip balms at her cafe across the street from a local ferry, but had accidentally deleted my voicemail when I contacted her so she couldn't return my call. I was sure I had given her my card; regardless, she took down my contact information and I should be hearing from her soon! I'm selling my products at a local consignment shop that's in the complete opposite direction, so I'm super excited to be expanding like this!

A few days ago, I felt like taking a trip to the store. Past experience has taught me that taking the kids out in public is no longer a pleasant affair. Change of scenery seemed crucial, so I took a chance, and planned to leave after Emily's nap. It was a success! I took my sweet time, a whopping hour and a half, browsing through this place of shopping. Elijah, who typically enjoys walking around with me, agreed to stay in the cart because Emily was sitting in there, too. They were so well behaved. No shrieking, throwing binkies, tears, pulling hair, or attitude. Elijah had asked if they "had toys" in this store, and after I told him there were toys, he was anxious to go look at them. I let him know once I finished my shopping, we would go look. So they patiently waited for me to finish collecting the small odds and ends that we needed around the house before browsing through the toys. All by themselves, here is what they picked.

Em's "ba-ba" (baby)

Fire Watch!!!

I am extremely conscious of what sorts of influences are introduced to my kids (movies, toys, clothing, furniture, etc....) but it still amazes me what a "girl" Emily is and what a "boy" Elijah is. Oh, and Elijah totally loves his new watch. He's always telling me that the little hand is on ____ and the big hand is on _____. When I suggested putting a clock on his wall with all of the numbers to better understand telling the time, he told me, "No, Mama. I can tell you the time with my watch." Well okay then :}

Moving!

It's been wild and crazy around here the past two weeks. Deep within the nitty gritty of moving, I was without internet until earlier this week. Because I didn't have access to the internet, I simply kept my computer at my mom's lest it fall victim to moving related injuries. Didn't want that to happen.

Dear Husband was the hero during the move in that he was ready and willing to go full steam ahead to get us moved into this place ASAP. It has been absolutely exhausting for him and just when he thought it would slow down, he was recruited to do some work for a family friend. A huge plus for the additional income and all, but it has involved 10+ hour days throughout this week. So, really, he's completely tuckered out. In the mean time, I've resumed the at-home status with the kids and as if the daily grind wasn't busy enough, I've got unpacking mixed in now, too. We're unpacked enough that we've regular access to the necessities, which of course means there's the regular havoc being wreaked on the premises. So half unpacked house + tornado Elijah + hurricane Emily = hair loss.

It has been fun settling into a place that is our very own, though. And we have a roommate, J; he's fond of the kids and has become a great help with them, too. Speaking [more] of the kids, they're super excited about their bedroom. Their room has been a priority of mine and I went and got new bedding to start with. It really is a challenge to stay as neutral as possible when buying items for boys and girls. I didn't want something media influenced like Spiderman, Toy Story, Disney Princesses, or anything like that.

So sports and flowers was about as middle ground as I could get to. Granted I only went to one store, but that's about all I could handle with both the kids with me. I'm not completely opposed to gender specific object matter but I do want to be conscious about what sorts of social influences I'm including in my children's lives. In any case, the kids love their beds and want to be in them. *confetti* I put a medium sized book shelf in between their beds with all their books on the bottom shelf. I don't know what I'll do with the remaining shelves yet seeing as how Emily clears every surface regardless of what's occupying its space.... I'll figure it out eventually. I do have exciting plans for the walls and a crafty idea for a light source. All in good time.

Another fun thing about this place is that there is a wood burning fire place. Right from the get-go Husband and I have made a huge deal about the kids staying clear of this thing. The fireplace itself is in an odd location. Imagine, if you will, a large rectangle. The left side of this rectangle is our living room. A little right of the center of the living room is a coat-type closet and directly behind the closet, is the fireplace, pointing toward the living room. The remaining space is the dining area. Definitely a different kind of layout, but I enjoy it as it makes the place more unique. You can actually walk around the left side of the fire place; mind it's a narrow area, but it allows there to be two paths of traffic through the house. But because of the openness surrounding the fireplace, it poses some seriously dangerous possibilities. We're in the market for a gate of some sort, preferably one that can wrap around the fireplace instead of something that will cut off the walk way entirely. So far the kids of obeyed the rules, but naturally, are getting comfortable with the idea of a fireplace and curiosity is lurring them in.

With this house also comes a fully fenced back yard! I'm super stoked about this because, [while there are a few gaps in the boards that will soon be fixed] the kids can roam about comfortably safely. It's a fairly good sized back yard that boasts a variety of bushes and trees. Our landlord said that we could do whatever we wanted to the yard, and could take out any of the smaller bushes and trees that we liked. I'm glad we received his permission on all of this because my first plan is to remove a small bush that's located in an ideal gardening area!

The kids had an absolute blast the one day this year it's been nice enough to go play in the dirt. Elijah was collecting worms (which were plentiful-this is some nutritious soil!) while Emily squealed while poking a shovel at the dirt. But this is the area that I cleared the weeds out of and am planning to plant a little bit of everything that can fit there. With the size of that bush that's there, I figure tomatoes can fit nicely. Once the temperature kicks up a little bit (ie: above 50) I'll start the seeds in those biodegradable pots and get them acclimated so that once they've germinated I can simply stick them in the garden. I'm so anxious to get started. I just know the kids are going to love watching the plants grow. And picking the veggies? It's going to be fun!!

Hazard Area

I spend hours attempting to keep up with the kids and put things away all day long. Now that I'm working on taking things out and packing them up it's like 3 times the destruction in here. I almost want to post a picture. Almost.

The way that we're going about this move is a little different. Because the place is right down the street from where I'm already at, there isn't much need for a huge moving day. I've been using the same 4-5 boxes and have done two mini trips so far. The first time was fun, what with having Emily with me and all. Josh spent the day unloading about half of our storage unit. By the time I was able to do my second run to the house a lot more of our belongings were in it. I'll tell you! It was pretty exciting seeing some of it. A lot of what was in storage neither one of us have seen since June of 2009. Like our big round chair that we hadn't even had a year before having to store it. It is essentially a sofa as it easily can hold the 4 of us. This isn't the color of ours, but you get the idea:

Relaxation Station.

It was fun rediscovering some books, priceless little tokens (airline tickets, letters, etc...), Elijah's first pair of shoes (cue sentimental mommy tears), and other goods. Josh and I had a moment alone in the house and we walked around talking about where stuff would go and what we want to hang on the walls and where. It was a fantastic hour. Very refreshing to have a moment with him sans children.

Ok, while it's great to blog, the kids are asleep and I should be packing!

Ok, seriously.

I will be better about updating! Perhaps it'll be easier to commit if I can compile all things remotely related to being a mother in this blog. So, from here on out, this is no longer child-specific reading, folks! We're talking all things parenting, crafting, at-home business, and children.

Moving on.

No more do I have to stress about functioning in a 200 sq ft apartment above my mom's garage. For those not up to speed, this is was my living situation during the time of my husband's deployment. However, he's now home and it's no longer necessary. Enter: new living space!!! *confetti*

We just signed the lease, like, less than 48 hours ago, and are slowly moving our stuff into it. I went to the local consignment store to drop off a few items of clothing and some toys and stumbled upon some toddler beds! Hey! I needed two toddler beds! With the store credit I had accumulated from consigning at this place, we scored two toddler beds for a pretty descent price. Space was a mild concern, but! - this worked out just perfectly.

Sneak peek of their room. And Husband.

No, the beds won't actually stay like that. And of course Elijah will have a mattress! But, you get the idea.

It has almost been a year since I started up my own business and really I've learned a lot of things! First and foremost, don't buy an Hp printer! Honestly! I bought that thing less than a year ago and already the ink-something-or-other had a system fail. "Pump Stall", it tells me. Hp couldn't even find that error message in their data base. Just my luck, right? I was only able to find out what exactly went wrong with the thing after trouble shooting on the phone with someone for roughly 45 minutes (after hanging up on the previous person I spoke with. The first guy sounded like he should have been on a surf board somewhere, had no idea what he was talking about, wasn't listening to a word I was saying, and just tried to sell me a new printer on the phone). The printer sits on top of the fridge, where it won't get baby-handled or toddler-stomped and still it breaks. I'm not excited about replacing this thing, but labels have to be printed!

Elijah is entering the name calling phase. Everything and everyone is a "baby butt". I get a kick out of gentle jesting, but we need some boundaries, here. Name calling, talking back, screaming in protest...it all came around a little over a month ago.

Something else he has been doing is expressing disappointment in the ever-so irritating sound of "AWwwwwwWWE!" You know, the loud to instant soft, gradual crescendo. Undoubtedly brought home from school. Not the worst thing, for sure, but still...

I have Emily asleep on my chest as I work out this blog and just now noticed she had a slipper on her head. How did I miss that? It was pressed against my cheek, even. Em is 13 months old and is a walking tornado. Everything gets opened, emptied, thrown, and pushed. She climbs. She stands on tiptoe to reach in drawers. Why put the blocks away? She turns the block box upside down as soon as they've been put away.

Don't be fooled by her delicate innocence.

Aside from being a complete momma's girl, Emily throws a fit when she can't have her way. We're talking serious tantrums. Collapsing to the floor, face first; pick herself up, throw her hands up and flop back down; using her feet to push herself along while her face is on the floor. If I take something from her or try to pick her up to remove her from a place she can't be, she goes limp noodle or arches her back and throws herself back hard enough that she's slipped through my hands once before. I'm afraid I'm going to hurt her but I really gotta hold on tight and lay her on a soft area so she can get the crazy fit out of her system.

More updates soon and hopefully some pictures of the new place as well!