Valentines for a Valentine

From Valentines

As a kid, didn't you love putting together your Valentines? That's been our project these past couple of days. Thanks to ideas found on pinterest (very pinteresting!), we came up with some fun ones this year.

From Valentines

Lindsey looked at idea after idea and settled on sweet butterflies found here. Before church on Sunday, she and I sat cutting and cutting these out, and she decorated them with just the right amount of sparkles, and of course she addressed them.

From Valentines

The lollipop finishes off the look!

From Valentines

Rand's Valentines were made by Randy this year, inspired by these.

Source: stitchcraftcreations.com via Mary on Pinterest

We do love the 3-D effect cards we have seen in family fun and elsewhere and made some last year like the lollipop ones below - but this year's twist is even better!

From Valentines

Randy did some sweet photoshopping and I added a glow stick to create the coolest card around!

From Valentines

We have little mail boxes from last year that we have been leaving notes and treats in here and there these past few weeks so using a few pictures, I put together little cards and a small treat for each kid for when they wake up tomorrow.

From Valentines

Amelia doing some weight lifting!

From Valentines

Cutie Clara!

Happy Valentine's Day to you!

In Progress

I decided to paint our house. I actually loved the cream-colored walls, but the flat paint was a magnet that attracted one too many stains that just wouldn't clean off. I have done about a week's worth of work mostly during naptime on this project and here is my progress:

From February 10, 2012

Before

• All walls washed down and prepped
• Roughly one mile of trim and base-board heaters primed and painted.
  
  

  From February 10, 2012

  
  Roughly two miles of blue painter's tape has been employed on every tapable surface of the main floor of this house. That stuff is amazing. I bear my testimony that blue painter's tape is true. (Is that wrong?) But see, I ran out of it the other day and did one section of the dining room with plain old masking tape and you can definitely see the difference. Blue wins!

• From February 10, 2012

• Painted the full and half walls of the dining room. (Above - in the works)
• Turned the corner into the living room. (ooh-ahh!)

From February 10, 2012

Well, that doesn't sound like much, but when working in 1-2 hour chunks of time, including prep and cleanup, I'd say I'm doing just fine. Slow and steady wins the race.

From February 10, 2012

With flash - hasn't pinterest taught me to stage my after shots?

From February 10, 2012

With flash. I guess not! Sorry about all the junk laying around!

From February 10, 2012

Without Flash. It's hard to get the true color in photos! To me it looks kind of tanish-greyish.

I'll start part of the living room and do the hallway tonight after the kids are in bed - but need to spend some time working on patching a few cracks in the plaster above the big window in the living room from when we had it replaced before I am able to paint the greater part of that room. That is a project I'm a bit nervous about, but the guys on "This Old House" and many-a y0utube video tell me patching plaster is a piece of cake. And then I'll be brave and work on the wood-paneled fireplace wall and bookshelves. Wish me luck!

From February 10, 2012

Lucky for the kids, Randy is a really fun dad who likes to build forts and entertain them while I'm working on stuff! (p.s. notice the basement is full of wood paneling? One level of the house at a time...)

Good thing I type fast!

Let's call this picture "Motherhood." I either look angelic with a glowing halo, or like my head is exploding. It's hard to differentiate at times, eh?

I am happy. I am feeling really good. Productive and positive. However, I have an underlying sense of teetering on exasperation-induced nervous collapse at any given moment. The other night when we should have been sleeping, I couldn't stop talking to Randy and went on for maybe an hour just listing stuff. (Randy is the best) Not stressful or complainy, but just needing to empty my brain of all things going on with the kids, random thoughts, neighbor gossip, presidential campaign ridiculousness, things I'm trying to figure out, funny things, frustrating things. Sometimes my brain is threatening to hyperventilate from all the things. You don't have to read this, but it's a quiet moment and I'm choosing to sit down for a second and type.

Here was our morning (times are approximate):

5:40 - Clara wakes up to eat so I go feed her.
5:42 - Amelia wakes up and yells something. Randy finds her in only a diaper - changes her, puts jammies back on her, puts her back to bed.
5:45 - Randy in the shower
5:51 - Geeeently put Clara back in bed, sneak back to my own bed for hopefully a teeny bit more sleep before anyone wakes up
5:52 - Rand gets up and goes to the bathroom. He has an ability to make the sound of turning door handles and turning on and off the light switch sound like he's pounding on a drum or something.
5:53 - Rand goes back to his bed. Clara wakes back up. I think if I ignore her, we can all sleep for a few more minutes.
5:54 - Randy gets out of the shower and talks to me while he gets ready.
5:57 - Randy walks out of our bedroom to head out for the day. There is no way to avoid the squeaky spot on the wood floor, no matter how sneaky you might try to be. SQUEAK
6:00 - Randy leaves for work
6:02 - Lindsey, Rand, Amelia are all out of their beds. I can hear Clara talking. It's soooo dark out. Wah!
6:03 - I can hear Amelia climbing up on something, getting into stuff. I hope she's not into the sprinkles or opening and eating a stick of butter or using a glue stick like chapstick or spreading beads all over the place.
6:10 - I relent and get out of bed. Change baby. Change Amelia into 1st outfit of the day.
6:20 - go downstairs and find big kids watching a movie. Give lecture to older children on please just stay in bed if it is still dark. Even if you think you're being quiet, you will wake the whole house up the minute you get out of bed. Get glassy, disinterested stares in return for all your soliloquizing.
6:35 - check emails, email a couple moms about playdates, check blogs, pout about being awake.
6:50 - Realize Amelia isn't downstairs with the rest of you. Find her upstairs sitting in the bathroom sink, rubbing lotion all over her clothes and spreading some kid flossers and rubber bands around for good measure.
6:52 - Also realize Amelia has peed. You forgot you put her in underwear. Outfit change #1 and it isn't even 7!
6:52-7 - Try to get Amelia to pee on the toilet. Sing some songs. Do "This Little Piggy." Run the water. She's good at holding it when she doesn't want to cooperate while on the toilet. She's not got at holding it at any other point in the day.
7-7:25 - It's a bit of a blur, but there were stink bugs to round up and flush, a game of roll the ball down the hallway with Amelia, some chatting with the big kids, breakfast to make.
7:25 - pancakes and yogurt for breakfast

Then there was another pee incident. Outfit #2 out of the way. And the beads I let Amelia use so she would get off the counter while I cooked somehow got put in Clara's hands and now you have a screaming Clara because you took them out of her sweaty little grip and out of her drooly little mouth. More stinkbugs to round up. Breakfast eaten and cleaned up. Kids sent to get dressed. Kids told again to get dressed. Kids told they have to stop whatever they are doing and get dressed and LISTEN for heavens sakes! Lunches being packed with about 1000 interruptions from an angry/sad/cuddly/screaming/happy Amelia asking/demanding/begging for a chip/attention/a bite of nutella/to get the beads back. Lindsey finding Clara chomping on a dorito in the living room. Amelia exclaims "I give Clara chip!" Clean up baby and carpet. Clara is crying again. Telling Rand to get up off the floor, it isn't swept yet today and his exercise pants pick up all the crumbs. Ask the big kids to please brush teeth and hair. Hearing big kids play in the bathroom, pushing the other into the hallway and slamming the door over and over and laughing hysterically. Breaking that up at least twice. Demanding they brush their teeth in a very loud voice. Finally they do it. Putting Amelia on time out for screaming NO! at me. Start the morning "Shoes! Backpack! Jacket!" chant. Finally the backpacks are packed with lunches, folders, 100th-day-of-school stuff, shoes are put on, jackets donned. I can now pick Clara up and nurse her for 5 minutes before the bus comes. Realize I never let Amelia out of her room from her time out, but she's not crying so I'll worry about her later. Read half of "Flat Stanley" to Lindsey while nursing while waiting to see the bus out the back window. Reassure Rand that his half-finished lego creation will be there for him when he gets home from school and to not freak out that he can't finish it before the bus comes. Spot bus, hear Amelia start freaking out in her room, leave her there, hustle big kids out the door, grab blanket for Clara, beat the bus to the front of the house, speedy hugs and kisses and see the kids off to school. Run back in the house where you discover Amelia has removed most of the books from the bookshelf and at least one of the books needs to be taped back together. Also realize she has peed again. Outfit #3!

9:06 a.m. Whew!

A pretty regular start to our day, except we usually aren't up until closer to 7.

Sometimes there is not a minute to think and everything - good and crazy - gets crammed in and needs to be let out! Sometimes that all gets built up for days on end, hence the need to just list stuff off to Randy the other night. And I guess to just list stuff on here. I haven't done so many blog posts in one week in ages. What a nice outlet. Thanks (or not, if you wisely chose not to read through this!) Break time is over!

February

Rand keeps talking about making think bubbles. He strikes this very pose and asks if we can see his think bubble. He'll be happy to know that think bubbles show up in pictures!



Last night at bedtime. Almost as nice as having all of the kids asleep in bed is seeing all of the kids sitting and reading QUIETLY. It was probably the first quiet moment we've had in weeks. (Hi Lindsey, sorry I have no other pictures of you today! I should have taken a picture of our rather loud outfit you wore to school today, just for memory sake!)



Yesterday Clara had her 9-month checkup. She is not a fan of the doctor. But she weighs a respectable 16.7 pounds (15%) and is 27 3/4 inches long (60%). I think she's so big and her legs are so chubba-chubba and delicous. I love it when she does her big big smile.



Clara loves Amelia and cheerios.



Amelia loves her dogs and smiling and wearing hats backwards. She also loves getting in to things and running away from me when I call her and being dangerous in general. She's not sure she loves potty training anymore. The initial thrill of unders and toilets is wearing off for both of us, but she'll get it - or so help me I will eat all of those potty training m&ms all by myself.

Happy February! (Today feels more like April than February, but we'll take it! So nice!)

Typing when I should be going to bed!

• I don't like walking barefoot on sticky floors or walking on floors with crumbs that stick to my feet. Even worse would be walking barefoot on sticky floors covered in crumbs. (Okay, even worse than that is having to listen to loud chewing - shudder - but that's beside the point). The golden kitchen has a golden linoleum floor that never quite comes clean, but it sure hides visible dirt! The rest of the main floor has lovely hardwood. Both floors are doomed to a perpetual crumb layer despite my best efforts. Sometimes a sticky layer as well. I'm afraid I can't quite keep up with the talented crumb-and-sticky-makers who live here... I seem to be the only one who minds this phenomena.
• I really love chocolate chip cookie dough. And the cookies too. But the dough most of all.
• I bought new (non-maternity) jeans for the first time since I had Amelia 2 1/2 years ago. So yes, I bought a new pair of jeans, took them back and bought a different pair instead. Decisive! Prior to this, I had been wearing the two pairs of jeans I bought after I had Amelia, just wanting to hold out until I lost the rest of the baby weight from Clara before buying new ones. The jeans and I were looking pretty worn out and frumpy. Giving in was a good choice, as you will see.
• Just to toot my own horn - toot! - last week, two people who don't know each other, in two separate instances, told me I look thinner, asking if I have been losing weight, congratulating me on how good I looked. (toot-toot!) I haven't been making any effort on that front since fall (see cookie note above), so that was extra nice to hear and I now have two new best friends. I weighed myself, hoping I would see that they were right. Nope!
• That just goes to show that buying a new pair of jeans now and then not only makes a girl feel better, but perhaps makes her look a little less crappy too!
• Amelia is really cute. She is two. I had kind of forgotten how two can be. Two, whew! Life with this girl can be extra dramatic. But really great too.
• Oh, we've started potty training. I wish we had our own cute tiny toilet like the one in the nursery bathroom at church. Amelia has been ready for a while and is really good at using the toilet if I remember to put her on it in time! I have been stalling on this project since it is such a huge commitment!
• I am glad Randy is usually home evenings and on weekends. He had a conference Friday and Saturday in D.C. so he was home both mornings, but gone until late each night. Yesterday when I told Lindsey that her dad wouldn't be home again until after bedtime, she did a big open-mouth cry. She is 7. Not 2. Sure, that's sweet if you're Randy. Perhaps I should go away for a weekend, eh?!
• Randy and I both love Downton Abbey.
• Last night I dreamed about our house that we lived in when we were kids in California. I looked it up today on google maps and got a good view of not only the neighborhood, but the view of it from the street as well! Then I went ahead and "walked" down the street, and even looked at some houses of dear childhood friends. My thoughts on this: They really crammed those houses in close! Those trees are so huge now! Technology is awesome!
• I want to get started on painting my living room/dining room/hallway. Choosing colors is fun and hard. Someone should do that for me so I can just get going on this. I see pictures of beautifully put-together houses and am either inspired or want to weep (thank you pinterest).
• Clara fell asleep while I held her at the end of Sacrament meeting today. Church is right during her afternoon nap time, and holding her all cuddly and warm was delicious. So as the meeting ended, I just stayed put and held her while she slept through the second hour. It was so nice. She is so sweet. It was entertaining to sit at the back of the chapel and watch the ward file out. I don't know about you, but it is fun to catch snippets of conversations and watch little family dramas here and there as people hurried or drifted past.
• Rand had one of his favorite friends over to play yesterday and I kept giggling as I checked on them, totally lost in their game of pretend that involved legos and cars and some dress-ups and could only be entertaining to the two of them.
• The dance game for the xb0x k1nnect is hilarious. Randy and I have been working down the list of songs after the kids go to bed and we are nearly ready to go on tour as some famous singer's back-up dancers. Oh sure, the kids are cute when they play this, but we are way better than they are! (as long as no one is watching of course)

9 Months!

From January 27, 2012

Today Clara is 9 months old! That is pretty exciting! And may I admit, a wee bit sad? I'm not sure if it can be stated as fact, but I believe these past 9 months have been the speediest in recorded history. I'm pretty sure it was just last week that Clara was a little warm lump of a baby the size of a football who needed holding all the time - and now she's her a real person with her own personality and a pretty loud voice, who still needs holding all the time.

From January 27, 2012

This girl is growing and changing daily! She has two bottom teeth. She's drooly. She likes eating real food and her reactions to our attempts at giving her baby food are hilarious. She has a funny laugh that she does with her mouth open wide, especially when she sees her own reflection.

From January 27, 2012

Although Clara can get to wherever she wants to go, she doesn't quite crawl yet. She's a good scooter and travels backwards pretty fast - especially on the kitchen and hardwood floors. She also seems strangely mobile while sitting - kind of scooting on her bottom.

From January 27, 2012

Clara can go from crawl position to sitting. She mastered that a few weeks ago. Today, though, she surprised me when I went into her room to get her up from her morning nap and she was sitting in the crib, working to pull herself up on the side slats!

From January 27, 2012

Clara loves all the attention she gets from the big kids. Amelia is more and more interested in her and wants to hold her all the time, saying, "Put Cara (how she says Clara) down, right there. I wanna hold her." But Clara isn't so interested in having an Amelia straight jacket and wants to move around so it often turns into a wrestling match.

From January 27, 2012

Clara is a busy, happy, loving, peppy, sweet little thing! I just wish she would remember how to sleep through the night again, sniff-sniff.

New Years Resolution (And More!)

After a couple of weeks of the new year, I have decided what my New Year's resolution will be. I I don't usually make these resolutions because I am trying to do better at just about everything on nearly a daily basis and as I inevitably fail, I go ahead and try again the next day... If I think about it, I pretty much live in a constant state of Groundhog Day.

Anyway, back to this year. I resolve to sleep more. Everything I want to do better at can only be helped by me getting enough sleep. Increased patience. Increased feelings of love. Being healthy - I swear I have had a cold since November that won't go away! Losing the last of the baby weight. Being tired sure saps my desire to exercise. But exercise helps you have more energy! Being worn out also makes it harder to eat well. I am a classic emotional eater - treats see me through many a hard day. Sticking to my grocery budget and eating-out budget (more on these another day). If I'm worn out, planning and making good dinners becomes a big chore and the temptation to eat out increases. Being a better wife and friend. Not getting overwhelmed by daily to-dos. Getting projects started and finished. Feeling positive. Handling toddler tantrums better. And on and on.

All of those things can be easier if I have a full night's sleep! I just love to stay up late. But the kids aren't going to agree to sleep in (or sleep all night for that matter) just because I don't go to bed at a reasonable time!

What's your resolution?

* * * * * * * * * *

Randy has been working like crazy on a huge proposal for work. Yesterday, at a meeting to go over the most recent review of the different parts of the proposal, Randy was called out and applauded for the great work he has done on his part of the proposal. I'm so proud! And so glad all of those extra hours of him working on this are being recognized!

* * * * * * * * * *

Randy and I went on a fun date for his birthday. We went to see The Sound of Music at a theater in a nearby town. It was a great show with lovely singing and we just loved it! I'm so glad we did that instead of just going to a movie, which is what I had originally planned. It was such a great night out!

* * * * * * * * * *

I somehow lost the stuff on the sidebar. Last year I never got around to writing down what books I read and now I wish I had because I have an inability to remember book titles. Here is what I can remember from last year. I know there are more I am forgetting, sigh.

• Little Women - an old standby. Very sweet. Sometimes too sweet, but I do love it.
• The Lost Summer of Louisa Mae Alcott - Pretty good as these types of books go.
• Tina Fey's book Bossy Pants - Funny. I wish she was my friend, only I would bore her.
• Variant - Great juvenile fiction! Good suspense! I hope there's a sequal to this one)
• State of Wonder - Interesting. I think I liked it.
• The Water and the Blood - by the lady who wrote the These is My Words series. I love her writing.
• The Host - Entertaining. It's better than her vampire books, but it bugs me that she uses the exact same formula for this book as the others. Kind of an outsider girl deeply in love with someone she shouldn't have, a rather strange love triangle, some strange amount of violence against the female lead character. Why does the love triangle have to involve violence against the girl?
• Firegirl - great juvenile fiction. Sad but funny at the same time. I love the main character and his day-dream super powers.
• The Tiger mom book. This one got me thinking. I want my kids to be successful and confident. I don't think you need to be such a screamer to make that happen. I can only imagine the tension in their family!