Dungeon remodel

I call my quilting room "the dungeon". The insulation showing in the ceiling, the cement walls, the spiderwebs in the window, and lack of decent light make it less than appealing. As much as I love to quilt...I hate going in this room.

Here is the before, or "during" rather. It was almost this bad when my mom got here, but not quite. At this point we had started pulling stuff out from under the stairs.

After a trip to Wal-Mart, and a few trips to the hardware store, this is what I now have:

Another view before:We painted the cement walls, made a HUGE "cork"board (foam insulation covered in fabric), Mom made a valance, and we're going to finish stapling fabric to the ceiling tomorrow.

Thanks Mom! I almost WANT to go in there now :o)

Lucy and Ethel

Yesterday, Mom and I took it upon ourselves to put a ceiling in my quilting room. We gathered as much fabric as we could find, grabbed a staple gun, and went to work.

We felt a little like Lucy and Ethel,

so we asked Dillon to take a picture of us :o)

Here's our "finished" ceiling. Now I won't have to worry so much about
"ceiling crud" falling on a customer's quilt.

Unidentified Objects

Here are a few of the things Mom and I found while cleaning Todd's tools. If you can name these things and tell me what they are used for...you win. I don't know what you win, but you win.

Here are my best guesses:
1. Not sure, but I could probably use it to put my face powder on.
2. Probably garbage, but what if it's not?
3. A really manly tonail clipper
4. One of them looks like I could shake spices through it.
5. Deluxe cheese grater?
6. Paperweight?
7. One side looks like a drill bit...I'm not sure why there are two sides.
8. Really small cookie cutter?
9. No idea, but we have a million of them.
10. Again, no idea, but I like the color.
11. Maybe this goes around a pipe for something?
12. My dentist has used one of these on me...
13. Gear?
14. No idea, but the two end thingies can be pinched and it's kind of fun to play with.
15. This one scares me.
16. I think Todd uses this thingy to chain up our dog...but why?


Also if you need to borrow one of these things, we have 31 of them. We're probably missing the size you need, though.

Before and Afters

It's only Wednesday, and already we're well on our way to an organized basement.

Here's the family room BEFORE:

The rocking horse is driving Mom crazy, because there's not a place for it. However, when we finish a room for the older boys, there will be LOTS of room in Dillon's cowboy room for the horse...after we paint it, of course.

Storage room BEFORE:

The storage room is now packed to the gills on every wall, but the floor is empty. Hopefully we can keep it that way through all the remodeling. Unfortunately, there's still a lot of stuff that has to "live" in here while we are finishing the bed and bath. Someday, we'll have a shed out back, and this room will be for food storage, and the spare bedroom.

Storage room AFTER:

Todd's stuff AFTER:

You men would have gotten a kick out of us organizing this stuff. It went something like this:

Me: "do you know what this thingamabobber is?"

Mom: "hmm. nope. let's add it to the un-identified objects box."

Me: "does this look more 'electrical' or 'plumbing-ish'? Oh good, we'll stick it here."

Mom: "does this bit look more 'drill-ish' or 'screw-drivery'?" or "This looks important...where should it live?"

We didn't get a good BEFORE shot of this room, but here is the AFTER (for now). Mom did most of this one by herself while I took a nap...bless her heart. This is the room we'll be finishing for the boys. Just imagine the floor covered (and I mean covered) with random pieces of 2x4's, lathe, laminate flooring, trim, moulding, etc. Also, all the saws are in here, and a work table, and the sheetrock for the bathroom, and the top bunk and mattress that goes with Dillon's wagon-wheel bed, and several sets of closet doors that came with the house. It'll probably take another day of work before we can actually start the framing, but we need muscles for that, and Todd is busy with his team of 15 teenage girls right now... heaven help him.

All the signs that she's here:

The breakfast of champions...and "the breakfast jacket"

Gotta have Kleenex in every room...

her "feeties"

(at first I thought these were her legwarmers, but she must have those hidden away)

I talked my mom into coming down this week to help me de-junk and organize my basement, so that we can finish the bathroom and bedroom for Brayden and Caleb. It was just more than I could do alone in my extremely tired, pregnant state.

You know Mom is near, when you set something down and two minutes later when you turn around to get it...it's already put away. Also, the vacuum is running constantly, the kids are happy, the basement bed is made, the laundry is caught up, the fridge is stocked with orange juice, we're having Papa Murphy's Pizza for dinner, we watch a movie every night, and I get to take a nap while she helps the boys get their homework done.

Thanks Mom!

This picture is for my siblings. I knew they'd never believe it unless I got proof that Mom actually chose to eat eggs, toast, and juice the other day INSTEAD of Wheaties.

As if I have time for this...

I have a million things to do today, but when Todd fell asleep on the couch in his hooded sweatshirt, I HAD to run and get the "unabomber glasses" that we found in our basement when we moved in, and take a picture. He woke up as I was trying to "set up", but I managed to get a quick shot anyway. This is the closest you will ever come to seeing Todd in a costume. Unless, like me, you consider the cowboy boots and belt buckle that he wears to work every day a costume...


Todd's been away at a conference for a couple days, so we are glad to have him home. Even if he's just sleeping on the couch :o) Oh, and I have to clarify something from a previous post. I mentioned that Todd had been at work getting sworn at...it's not by his superiors, mind you; it's by the ungrateful teenagers that he's trying to "fix". He works in a very difficult environment, but I believe it is a noble job. I'm grateful for all he does for our family.

Fun weekend

I'm running around today trying to get ready for a quilt retreat this weekend (yeah!) that takes place about 2 blocks from my house.

It'll be fun to sew all day and laugh with friends while Todd takes care of the boys for a couple days.

Then, on Saturday evening, my parents are coming. I talked my mom into coming down and helping me de-junk/organize my basement so that we can get ready to finish a room and the bathroom in the basement. Four kids in one bedroom just isn't going to work!

I'll have to take before and after pictures so you can all see what we accomplish. I have no doubt that Mom will whip this place into shape in no time :o)

Todd is not a brown noser anymore!

Ever since Todd was two years old, he's had a mole on the end of his nose. He's always hated it...being called brown-noser, or "the north star" by mean kids on the playground. So you can imagine his joy, when he recently went to have his teeth cleaned, and both the dentist AND the hygienist recommended that he have it checked.

Four days before his scheduled appointment, our dermatologist and most of his staff were tragically killed in an airplane crash. Todd was quick to call the office and leave a message saying, "Don't worry about me...you've got bigger things to worry about." But I know he was disappointed to keep "the north star" around for longer.

After a bit of searching, we discovered that there was a dermatologist that comes to Gunnison from Provo, so Todd met him there (a little over an hour away). The dermatologist didn't think it looked so bad, but he could tell that Todd really wanted it gone, so he said, "lets do a biopsy..." (probably so he could bill it to our insurance) and then he cut the whole thing off :o).

Todd goes running any time I try to get near him with the camera (I can't imagine why??) so I had to do a little photoshop-ing so you could see what he looks like now :o)

This one's for the girls

Okay, girls. I want to know when or if y'all got sick during pregnancy. This one has been completely different for me. With Brayden and Dillon and my first miscarriage, I first felt sick on the day my period was due. With Caleb and with my last miscarriage, I felt sick 4-5 days BEFORE my period was even due (I'm as regular as clockwork, by the way... every 28 days at 7:00 AM kind of regular).

This time, I didn't think there was any way I was pregnant. I usually keep pregnancy tests around because I don't like to buy them from the local store in a SMALL town (plus they're a lot cheaper from the dollar store). I didn't even bother buying a test ahead of time because I just didn't think I was pregnant. I had a rip-roarin' case of what I thought was PMS, and I didn't feel my first wave of nausea until 4 days AFTER my period was due (which happens to be the day I finally tested). I did have some sciatic nerve pain before I tested this time, though, and I thought that was really weird. I was walking across the backyard thinking...this only happens to me when I'm pregnant...

This time I've had waves of nausea here and there, and lots of side effects from the progesterone I have to take during the first trimester (extreme fatigue and lots of intestinal issues), but so far not too bad. I'd say one cracker on the "nauseameter". If I didn't feel such an interesting sense of peace, I'd probably be a paranoid basketcase because I'm not as sick as I usually am. I'm afraid that it's going to hit me next week (which would be totally normal according to all the books) and I'm going to regret not getting more done during the last two weeks when I've been feeling okay. I definitely don't get as sick as some. I only toss my cookies two or three times, but I usually feel like it all day long for the first 12-15 weeks.

So how did it go for you? Was it different with different pregnancies? Both of my visiting teachers, AND the other girl I know of who is pregnant in town, don't get sick AT ALL.

I guess it wasn't PMS

Some of you may remember my Darth Vader/PMS post from a couple weeks ago...

I was wrong.

No PMS here.

We're due May 15th :o)

I hesitated to post it, but decided that if I miscarry again...it will end up on the blog anyway. We even told our kids already so we could pray for the baby as a family (and so that we could give the kittens away so I wouldn't have to be around the kitty litter).
I feel a sense of peace this time, so hopefully that is a good sign.

Maybe it's a good thing Dillon's been using my camera...

I've been working on a digital scrapbook to publish and give to Brayden for his 8th birthday/baptism.

I had an idea this morning, but I needed a picture of my hands...so I found our resident photographer (who was snitching cookies in the kitchen) and asked him to take the picture.

I set the camera on "kids and pets", gave it to him, and held my breath...after all, most of his work is a bit blurry :o)



But, he did it! Great job, Dilly!

Window treatments...or Mis-treatments?

I've been debating what to do for a window treatment in my livingroom for a LONG time. I've searched the Internet looking for idea's, but haven't really come up with anything that I loved. I do NOT like big, pompous drapes, and I also do NOT like bare windows (I don't care if it's in style right now).

We got a screamin' hot deal at Wal-Mart the other night on curtain rods. They were $2.50 a piece. In my online searching for idea's, I had seen panels hanging from three seperate rods, and thought it might work with my windows. When I saw the rods for so cheap, my mind was made up.

Then I went over and bought three panels in a color called "Spice".
I am always looking for ways to add orange to my room, so that it looks like I planned my orange countertops, rather than being stuck with them :o)

Here's Todd hanging the rods...notice my orange hammer on the back of the couch. He used it. But he won't admit it.

I think I'm going to paint a couple of wooden plates to hang between the rods.

Todd is (surprisingly) happy with the outcome, but I'm not so sure yet. I have this problem with decorating. I like brown, and I like green. The whole room looks monochromatic, so I was trying to "branch out" with the curtains. What do YOU think? Is it too much? Am I too boring? I can still fold them up and return them, but I just can't decide . If I did return them, what color should I use instead?






Here are a few of the orange accessories around the room so you can see that I do have lots of orange to tie them in....but, man those curtains are bold.

So this is what my boys think of me

I asked my boys the following questions to see what they thought. Here are their answers.

B= Brayden; C= Caleb; D= Dillon; T= Todd; (my comments in paranthesis)

1. What does mom always say to you?

B- Do your jobs.
C- Clean up.
D- Go to bed.
T- What the hell were you thinkin'? :o) (I would never swear...)

2. What makes mom happy?
B- Flowers.
C- When we clean up.
D- Clean our room.
T- When I do housework for you.

3. What makes mom sad?
B- Funerals.
C- When we don't clean up.
D- Not clean our room.
T- When I fall asleep on the couch.

4. How does mom make you laugh?
B- Do silly dances while I'm getting ready for school.
C- You say something silly.
D- Say knock, knock jokes...and that's all mom.
T- Her funny comebacks.

5. How old is mom?
B- I don't know...23?
C- Um...30?
D- Um..a...25?
T- I don't know...uh...are you 30? I have to stop and do the math to figure out how old I am.

6. How tall is mom?
B- Almost as big as dad.
C- Uh...I don't know?
D- Thiiiis big.
T- 5' 2", no 5' 4", no wait I'm 5' 4", no wait I'm 5' 8". 5'4". (I'm 5' 2 1/2")

7. What does mom like to do?
B- I know you like coloring. (I'd rather be sewing)
C- Watch your children. (while I blog?)
D- Make Dinner. Clean my room. (yeah, right)
T- Sit and stare at walls and figure out how to decorate 'em. Sounds awfully damn boring to me. (can you tell he's been at work getting sworn at?? So much potty language).

8. What is mom's job?
B- That's easy...quilting.
C- Let's see here...to tell the kids what to do.
D- Make dinner. Macaroni. (he left to get a box of macaroni).
T- Shwee? What is your job? You nurture family and the household. (It's like a revelation to him...? Glad we figured that one out.)

9. What is mom's favorite food?
B- Oranges. (orange juice is my least favorite)
C- Pizza (yeah, if it comes from Papa Murphy's so I don't have to prepare it)
D- Ravioli's (rabawoewee's) (I really like zucchini and onions)
T- Ravioli (only because they cook in 3 minutes)

10. How do you know mom loves you?
B- Because you hug me at night.
C- Because you care for us.
D- You hug me.
T- Because of everything that you do.

I have not forgotten

Every year on September 11th, I watch a few YouTube video's and cry my eyes out. It may seem silly to put myself through the emotion, but it helps me to really remember.

Ironically, my friend Vanessa's husband who is currently serving in Afghanistan, got to come home today for his two-week break. Bittersweet. I am so excited for her to see him, and yet so sad that our soldiers are still needed--seven years later.

On September 11, 2001 I was barely pregnant with Caleb. I had started a preschool in our home, and it was the 2nd day of school. We didn't have TV, but I heard about the first airplane when my alarm went off that morning. I listened to the radio as I got ready for preschool, and the part I will never forget, is Peter Jennings reporting live when the first tower fell. He said, "Oh...my...God" and then there was dead air space. Todd was away at a conference, and in my hormonal pregnant state it was more than I could handle. I somehow made it through preschool, and then I spent the rest of the day at my mom's house, glued to the TV. I just couldn't leave the screen because WHAT IF they found another person alive...

At that time the 2nd verse of We Thank Thee Oh God for a Prophet came to my mind, and I think of 9-11-01 every time I sing this song:

When dark clouds of trouble hang o’er us

And threaten our peace to destroy,

There is hope smiling brightly before us,

And we know that deliv’rance is nigh.

We doubt not the Lord nor his goodness.

We’ve proved him in days that are past.

The wicked who fight against Zion

Will surely be smitten at last.

I also became very fond of the 3rd verse of our national anthem:

(V, this is for you)

Oh, thus be it ever, when free men shall stand

Between their loved homes and the war’s desolation!

Blest with vict’ry and peace, may the heav’n-rescued land

Praise the Pow’r that hath made and preserved us a nation!

Then conquer we must, when our cause it is just,

And this be our motto: “In God is our trust!”

And the star-spangled banner in triumph shall wave

O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave!

Crazy About Cookies....not fundrasising

Our elementary school is doing a fundraiser by selling frozen cookie dough. Since I absolutely disagree 100% with kids selling things door-to-door, I will not allow my kids to sell this stuff. However, if any of you (like the grandma's) would like to spend $12-$15 of your hard-earned money on 3 lbs. of frozen cookie dough to make your grandchildren smile, let me know. If not, they'll probably get over it. The money has to be in by September 25th, and the dough should be back just in time for us to bring it to Logan/Newton when we come for Brayden's baptism.

Here are the choices:

$12:

Chocolate Chunk

Sugar Cookies

Oatmeal Raisin

Peanut Butter

Snickerdoodle

$14:

M&M's Candies Cookies

White Chocolate Macadamia Nut

Triple Chocolate

Walnut Chocolate Chip

Reese's Peanut Butter Cup

Heath

Jumbles (looks like a bit of everything; coconut, white and choc chips; butterscotch; oatmeal; yuck)

$15:

Scrumtious set- Nostalgic Extravagance: Oatmeal Raisin and Oatmeal Butterscotch

Scrumtious set- Hawaiian Decadence: White Choc. Macadamia Nut and Double Chocolate Macadamia Nut

Up to my eyeballs...

...in Crabapple Jelly!

My wonderful visiting teaching partner/quilting friend taught me how to make crabapple jelly yesterday. Before moving here, I thought crabapples were only good for slingshots. Actually, the kind I grew up with ARE only good for slingshots, but the kind we grow here...we eat. Marsha's crabapple jelly is all the rage in town, and let me tell you...it's worth the hype. Especially if you like almond flavoring.

She picked me up the other day and we drove to Fremont to pick the really red crabapples from some random person's yard (that's what gives the pretty color). Then we went to my friend Becky's house to pick her really large, but not so red crabapples. I had no idea how many I would need, so I just kept pickin' 'til my (apple) box was full.

Then, yesterday, Dillon and I went over to Marsha's to watch her make a batch so we could do our own. Just as I had gotten my kitchen counters cleaned and ready, a friend of mine (who just moved into the ward) stopped by to say "Hi". She ended up helping me all afternoon, and we had a ball. (no pun intended...we're using Kerr jars)

$48 for jars, five batches, and six hours later, we still had 2 GALLONS of crabapple juice left! (one batch takes 5 cups of juice) So, she's coming back this afternoon with more jars so we can finish up the rest of our jelly. (the jars are in the basement of her rental house and we figure the owner has no idea they're even there)

For dinner last night we had oatmeal pancakes with crabapple syrup...YUM!

Marsha came over this morning and traded me some elderberry juice for some of my extra crabapple juice, so I'll be making elderberry syrup next. (We also got the elderberries while we were out pickin')

I feel so domestic.

If the shoe fits...

My sis-in-law, Becky, was here this weekend and we made these cute pillows from stuff in my stash:

I feel bad that I didn't take any pictures while they were here, but we had a good time. The kids played great together, Becky and I went shopping at the little gift/flower shop (there's nowhere else to go :o) and made our pillows, and Todd and Michael spent 8 hours playing Nintendo. They also went to the shooting range after dark and blew up a few gourds while Becky and I bathed and tucked in six kids.

(thanks, dad, for sending the gourds...I still have plenty to decorate with)

Projects this week

A year ago we took a half wall out of our dining area. This week I FINALLY finished mudding, taping, texturing and painting the gaping hole. If you look closely, you can tell, but I'm pretty happy that it turned out as well as it did.Here's a picture from last summer where you can see the half wall. I haven't missed it once.

We put a new window in the bathroom and it was a tiny bit too big, so we had to rip out the sheetrock that surrounds the window. I wish I had a before picture, but after the window was installed, Todd put in new sheetrock, and replaced the metal corner thingy, and then we went to work doing the mudding and stuff. Look at my nice corner...not the part that needs to be sealed :o).
This new crock for my cooking utensils is actually a peanut butter jar (plastic) that I spray-painted. Even Todd thought it was a ceramic crock until he got close.
Todd thinks this is blasphemy, but I don't care. This is MY hammer. I used to keep it with my cooking utensils so I always knew where it was, but it was a little too heavy for the PB jar.

I couldn't find another place to keep it in my tiny kitchen, so I wrapped fabric around it and hung it on the wall. I guarantee Todd will not be using it and I will always know where to find it :o).

Hell froze over

I am not an animal lover. I would certainly never hurt them intentionally, but when it comes to pets...let's just say I'd rather have another kid to take care of than an animal. Especially one in the house.

So, you can imagine my dismay, as we recently paid $10 for kitten formula and bottles. Yes, I said kitten formula.

Caleb and Skipper

Brayden and Nala

Our next door neighbors moved last week. They were supposed to move to Boise. The mom and three kids went first, to get the oldest started in school, whild Dad stayed behind to finish up his job. While mom and kids were there, they took on two little kittens whose mother had died before they were old enough to be apart. In the meantime, the Dad's boss gave him an offer he couldn't refuse, so they decided to stick around this area. Mom and kids came back, and they found a new apartment...that didn't allow pets.

So, at 9:00 the night before they moved, they came over with their kids and their kittens. The mom said, "Lori is heartbroken about giving these kittens away. The only way she says she'll do it is if they go to your boys."

Now you have to understand that Lori has recently been through a traumatic experience AND she was in our primary class. What was I supposed to do?

Yesterday morning, I stepped outside and found that one of them had died. I couldn't find the other one, but the boys were weeping and wailing all morning. Just before I took the boys to school, I found the missing one...alive, and cold. The boys went to school sobbing over their lost kitten. I came home from dropping the kids off, and found that Dillon had brought the dead kitten into my livingroom (hard, stiff, cold...) and Todd was placing it in a box to bury it. He was just about to close the flaps on the box...when it BREATHED.

So then what do you do? You stick it on a heating pad, of course. (Although, Todd suggested we put it in the freezer...you Office fans will appreciate that :o)) So I spent half my day yesterday, giving this cat a warm sponge bath, dripping formula into it's mouth, and even PRAYING for it (this was purely for Brayden's sake). By about noon the thing perked up and started walking around!

Brayden cried tears of joy when he got home from school and saw that his kitten was still alive. And now, because of all my hard work, I get to have two kittens sleeping in my kitchen at night so they don't freeze to death.

Oh, and I got on the Internet to read up on "kitten care" while I was nursing the "dead" cat, and found out that the mother cat is supposed to lick the kitten's anus to stimulate it to poop.

I don't care if Hell has frozen over. That's NOT gonna happen.

Sometimes the difference between Darth Vader and Hello Kitty is just a pint of Triple-Chocolate-Chunk-Double-Fudge-Mocha-Swirl-Brownie-Batter-Delight.

It's that time again...and it's not pretty. I had thoughts of killing Todd's Nintendo Game Cube this morning. I think I need a Dr. Pepper, and some chocolate, and some new fabric, and someone to potty train my three year old, and someone to finish painting my house, and maybe some money for a shopping spree.

Yep, that ought to do it.

Oh, and could you add some extra chocolate sauce to my triple-chocolate-chunk-double-fudge-mocha-swirl-brownie-batter-delight?

Dillon rules the roost...

A few weeks ago, when we were doing some school shopping, Dillon reached out of the cart and grabbed some watercolor paints. I told him he could have them if he did his jobs and paid me two tokens for them. He was so excited he clung to those watercolors all through the store.
We got home late, but Dillon still wouldn't go to bed. He just stared at his watercolors until almost 11:00 PM.

The next morning, he got up before I did, and when I walked into the kitchen he was already painting.

I said, "Dillon! You were supposed to do your jobs to earn those paints."

And then he "shined" up his freckles, batted his eyes, and said:

"But I wanted to paint a nice pitchoe foe you!"

And I melted. And he continued to paint without doing any of his jobs.

And this is just a cute picture of him playing in the sprinkler.
We love our Dillon!