SO...What have you been up to lately?

I hate that question. I think it's because every time someone asks me that, my mind goes blank and I have to mentally go over the last few days and weeks and try to remember anything I did that was worth mentioning.
I read a lot of books with Marianne. Drew a lot of lions and cats so she could color them in. Made lots of food. Cleaned so much, I can't look at my house anymore because it accumulates clutter and dirt faster than I can eradicate it. Ran a little bit every few days, mostly to counteract the aforementioned food. Ate, slept, played, yelled, got yelled at, fed, ate, rinse, repeat. Blech. Some days I am drowning in routine. Some days my routine gets hijacked and then I want it back, badly.
Anyway...
Here's proof of a few gems that lie outside the regular cycle: (spanning the last two months)
I did this drawing of a couple for their 50th wedding anniversary, complete with their favorite things and places and quirks and hobbies.

I had a happy find of an adorable hedgehog print fabric (the orange that lines this pillow sham). I bought it instantly, not knowing what I would do with it, only that I had to make something for my sister in law Emily, who actually OWNS a hedgehog. Awesome, right? Her name is Gypsy. I lucked upon a few other hedgehog prints, and then my sister found a book with different pillow designs and thus the hedgehog pillow was born. I even made Gypsy her own tiny pillow. Completely random, but completely gratifying work.

Since I was abuzz with my hedgehog victory, I went to work doing paper piecing. This little heart table-topper was fun and quick, and I made it with my sisters on a spontaneous trip to Flagstaff. I have wonderful sisters. They "carry my heart," as a poem reads...They also make fun of random things I do like this table topper. When I emailed Amy that I had finished it, she said, "It's cute! How does it fly?" To which I'll reply that the employee at the quilt shop was admiring my "tight" piping job, so there.

It must be mentioned that I have spent time enjoying other people's children. A lot of my time, it seems, is spent doing this, and I enjoy it because I like serving other people. Unless I'm in a bad mood, and then, honestly, I'd rather be alone with my one monster or shopping with my one monster. Marianne and cousin Rachel are splendid little dancers.

 If you'll remember, Jacob turned eight in December. Which means we've been inducted into the very elite (and admittedly overwhelming) society of Cub Scouts. Jacob was thrilled to take part in his first Pinewood derby, though I can't really say who was more anxious for victory - Jacob or his dad. LUCKILY, Jacob placed third in his division and now proudly displays his trophy as evidence of his greatness. (P.S. When did Pinewood derbies become so technologically advanced? The number of "degrees" that ran the spreadsheets and tracked the results was staggering...I think their work was resume-worthy for sure.)

 February really wouldn't be complete without an entire weekend devoted to science projects. This year we melted aluminum, made a calorimeter, and tested the dyes in m&ms versus skittles. I think the accumulation and presentation of all of that data on three different science boards is definitely resume-worthy on my part.

 Jacob was devastated when the bottom of his steel can blew out and the molten aluminum it had contained was lost in the coals below. But then he and Rus helped everything cool down and unearthed some really neat pieces of now hardened aluminum. He said he'll make one into a necklace for me. Such a sweetie.

 Marianne is the theme song to my day, everyday. She definitely directs the crescendos, decrescendos, and all the tumultuous and lovely in-betweens. Here she is showing off her "elephant ears," as she calls them. "Pig-tails" are so 1980.

There you go. Now you know what I've been up to. Same ol', same ol'

Christmas 2013

This past Christmas was...a blur. But it was a delightful one, with Amy and Tyler and their families and my parents here to visit. Food, fun, presents, anticipation...One highlight was having two of the kids throw up on Christmas eve (Beau - coughing led to puking, Bekah - her green and red puke spoke for itself...and the volumes of candy canes she must have eaten). But everyone was well the next day...
Here are the pictures of the good parts:
Christmas morning, excited kids...

Marianne's main gift was the Leapfrog phonics set. I can tell you now, two months later (almost), that it's not really her favorite toy. She may enjoy it more when she's just a little bit older. If I had given it to Beau, she might have liked it more, too. It's always more fun to steal your big brother's toys. The Marianne Bug was not super fun this Christmas. I'm hoping next year will be THE year....we'll see.

Jacob was THRILLED to get this remote control helicopter. He had seen us looking at them on the internet and tried to act nonchalant, but he really, really wanted one. Again, the bonus of posting this months after Christmas is the added insight I can offer on how this toy really fared on the scale of "doesn't even remember he received it" to "still sleeps with it every night"...He doesn't play with it very much right now, but that's because it needs a new propeller. I'd suggest ordering the replacement parts kit with the actual toy. That's how I'd do it next time...
(Because you're my friends I know you won't even notice the dirty window behind my Christmas tree...crap, well now you will...don't judge me.)

My Bekah girl is too grown up for toys now it seems...So here we have started down the treacherous road of electronics, starting with a Nook. (Santa got a killer deal at Target on black Friday!)

 Beau's face says it all...He was SO excited to get this remote control car!

 Another gift he got was from Nana, and I have to say it was THE favorite gift, hands down. All of my kids took turns playing with it. He still plays with it! It's this really cool drill set with a battery powered drill, threaded screws in four different colors, a board with holes, and big pattern cards that he can follow to make cool designs and pictures.

Marianne got princess shoes! I'm actually really excited to dive back into the world of princesses. I've been on a boy-driven hiatus, and dress up and high heels sound so much simpler than reassembling disembodied transformers.

I received exactly what I wanted (I made sure of it by picking it up myself)...A Cuisinart food processer. (With 11 cup capacity!!) I talked Santa into okaying this purchase by promising a pie a month, a drastic improvement in my pizza crust, and improved overall kitchen efficiency. I also received another gift from Rus and the kids. He hinted at what it was - "a little skimpy, and mutually beneficial." I was aghast at thinking he had purchased lingerie for me with the kids present! But it turned out that on Christmas morning I received ankle socks ("a little skimpy") and a Pioneer Woman cookbook ("mutually beneficial"). That rascal.

The Pioneer Woman cookbook has proven to be fantastic! It's her "On My Frontier" book, and everything I've made from there has been delicious! I'd highly recommend it, but if you're on a diet, it may not be the safest place to go for a recipe, as she is an artist at incorporating cream and butter into various concoctions.

Rus got what he wanted, too, although if Santa had been more generous, she'd have purchased him a Timney trigger. As it was, he received a scraping plane insert for his hand plane, and bullets from each and every relative who decided to gift him something. If we were to compare Christmas hauls by weight, he would have one.

Every year we rotate who we give gifts to in my family and in Rus'. We gave to my sister Amy's family and Rus' dad, and we received from my sister Amanda and Rus' brother Jacob and his wife DeAnn. DeAnn is a terrific gift giver and she didn't disappoint this year. She looked on Pinterest and found several different projects that she thought our family might do, and then she printed out the tutorials and bought all of the supplies for each project. We had a lot of fun doing the wire-art project, and we are looking forward to doing a concrete planter, canvas night light, and an acid-leaf project.

My sister Amanda gave us money to go see the movie Frozen. It was a big hit with my kids, Bekah especially. And I loved it too - best Disney since Tangled.

Rus decided to make a box for his dad for Christmas. (The man is hard to purchase for because he buys whatever he wants.) He made it out of soft wormy maple with walnut insets in the corners. It was small, just right for Roger's wallet and other pocket items. I don't think I have a picture of it, sadly...

I decided to make terrariums for all of my sister Amy's kids. I knew that they would love the mini ecosystems where plants can thrive without regular watering. I made the terrariums - 12"x12"x15". I purchased all of the plants and dirt and charcoal and rocks, and on Christmas day when Amy's family came over, they were able to put together their terrariums.

They really, really were happy with them!

Later we used sculpey clay to make little figurines that could go in their terrariums. It turns out my sister in law Gina is a sculpey clay genius, just check out her adorable elephant!

Rus also spent a great deal of time making a table for my mom. It is a side table, dimensioned to perfectly sit on the side of her couch. It is made of curly maple; you can see how beautiful the top is. It has a long narrow drawer that houses Rus' first set of hand cut dovetail joints. Not perfect - he would be quick to admit - but still very well done. My mom loved it so much that she has traveled with it on her last two road trips so as to be able to enjoy it in Sierra Vista as well as Los Lunas. She's so proud of Rus turning into a woodworker!

 All in all it was a wonderful Christmas. I feel blessed to have people in my life to love and be loved by.

Jacob the Great Eight Year Old

Holidays usually have a way of sneaking up on me. I know they're there, pending, imminent, and I think I'm prepared, and then suddenly it's the day of and I'm out of butter, or something equally disastrous.

Birthdays, on the other hand, "sneak" as well as a toddler carrying marbles. My children plan out their special day for months. Breakfast: German pancakes. Lunch: Class party that day. Dinner: Homemade pizza. Presents: Transformers. No, transformers are dumb. Art desk. Desk is too big for my room. Art kit with easel. Too expensive? Knife, a real gun, new clothes...

Activities: NO HOMEWORK!

The night before his birthday, Jacob said, "So you'll get up at four or five, right? To make sure my breakfast is ready when I wake up?"
I laughed, a little, and then assured him that it would be ready pretty soon after he woke up, but I wouldn't have to get up at 4am to make that happen.
His birthday fell on the last day of school this year, which was really nice because all the activities that day were really fun and he didn't have to be tormented by too much actual work.
Jacob opted out of birthday cake that night in favor of mini cheesecakes.

He blew out the candles, devoured the cheesecake, and then immediately turned his attention to his present: An art kit in a nice wooden case with an easel. He was delighted and treated it like it was gold the rest of the night. We had a fun surprise drop in from cousins, so Rachel and Wesley are in this picture.

The next day we held the much-anticipated Fossil Dig Birthday party. Only slightly marred by an unexpected midnight snowfall, the boys had a great time cracking open rocks to find plastic dinosaurs, searching for fossils in the snow (Jacob and I could work at a museum making replicas. We are that good), and eating dino-themed food. 

Did you know that blowing bubbles into jello makes it sound like it's farting? Neither did I.

And of course no birthday party with six boys involved would be complete without a nerf gun fight.

Three weeks later on January 4th, Jacob was baptized by his dad. This was not something he was super excited about doing at the start. He didn't want everyone watching him - he really, really does not like a lot of attention. But after many conversations and a little time, he became super excited about his big day and eagerly took a dip in the font.

I was so glad my mom was able to stick around for the baptism. I think Jacob was excited too...

Of course we had to document our little family on this occasion. They are growing up too fast!

I am so grateful for Jacob. He is my sweet, tender-hearted boy; the first to comfort me if I am having a hard day, and so eager to please. He is a blessing in my life!

It cracked me up that Beau and his cousins were so enthralled with these lace up cards that Marianne got for Christmas. They were seriously occupied the entire time.

And on the other side of the room sat these lovely girls. So cute.

Since Jacob has outgrown or out-worn every piece of Sunday clothing he owned, we had to go find him some new rags. He insisted on buying a full suit. Such a classy, handsome kid, huh! He is holding his scriptures that Nana and Grandpa bought him. Nana wasn't able to come up because she had strep, but Grandpa was there to represent.

Jacob, I love you and I'm so proud of you and your good choices!

All are safely gathered in...

 If I were a Christmas card writing gal, I would have used this picture on my card. I love how everyone is in their colorful pjs and how the snow is still falling. I love how Beau's coat is covering his mouth, but you know he is smiling because his eyes are crinkled up and happy. I love that Marianne's hat covers one eye. I love that Bekah is wearing the hat she made two years ago, and still wears so proudly because she loves telling people that she made it herself. The big black mitten on her hand is mine, and she's wearing to protect her bright green cast - souvenier from a fall off the couch. Marianne's mittens are mismatched because I couldn't find two the same. It's such a happy picture.
I think if I were to make a sign to hang in my home that described the circumstances of my most peaceful times, it would say, "All are safely gathered in." I LOVE having all my children all around me. Maybe not when I am making dinner or using the bathroom or typing on the computer...but in general, I feel most content when they are all nearby, safely esconced in their rooms playing, or sitting on the couch reading or even running down the hall yelling at each other. I know that all too soon our simple lives will get so much busier and I won't be able to keep them nearby all the time anymore.
Now don't read in to this too much. I'm not a saint. I did a little dance when my kids went back to school today after the winter break. I love bed time because I have a little space and time to do what I want to do. I hate it when they fight and bicker and tease and are selfish and mean. I have been known to kick them off my lap because I feel like I can't breathe.
But.
The mother hen in me loves having all my chicks safely in one nest. Peace, contentment, joy - I feel all of these things when I know they are in arm's reach.
I so love my children.
Here is Bekah in a rare moment after she let me blowdry her hair. I had to record it for posterity.

 Jacob, so handsome in the snow.

Making Bookshelves, Making Friends

 A few months ago (August?), my friend Kristine (pictured above), emailed me a picture of a bookshelf from the Land of Nod. "How hard do you think this would be to make?" she asked. I did a little research (thank you Ana White), and replied, "I think we could totally do this. I'll make one too." She was happy to hear this, and a few days later when we were talking she said, "I'm so excited! I told Cecy about this and she wants to make one, too. It won't be too hard to do three, will it?"
This is what I love about Kristine - she knows exactly what she wants, she asks, and she pulls in as many people as possible to do it with her. So I spent a little time drawing up plans, figuring out dimensions and cost and how much of what we would need, and then at the beginning of September Kristine and I went to buy wood. I knew it would be a fun project because just picking up the wood was fiun. Have you ever seen two women wrestle a 4x8' sheet of plywood, 3/4" thick? We did. And it was heavy. And with each selection, Kristine would quiz me as to what it was for and if it was enough and exactly how it would be used and put together. Thankfully, I passed, and by the end of the night she was confident that I knew what I was doing. (I think. You were, weren't you?)
Soon after that, the three of us had our first Woodshop Friends meeting. Cecy, Kristine, and myself, and a welcome surprise visitor - my dad. While Cecy and I cut boards on the table saw, Kristine and my dad set up the pocket hole jig. It was a Kreg jig that I had excitedly purchased a few weeks earlier - reward for two paintings that I had just finished. We cut out most of the wood that night and routed the edges that needed to be routed.
Side story** The next night we met, we wanted to attach the trim to each shelf and do some sanding. We had only been working about fifteen minutes when Cecy's husband called and said, "The stake president is at our house, you need to come home." Kristine had a good laugh about this - you see, Kristine's husband was the bishop of our ward, and had been for over five years, and she knew that his release was imminent. So Kristine and I continued our work until another phone call from Cecy: "Kristine, I'm done here, but I need to come and get you because now the stake president is at your house." Oh the timing. The next day our entire ward got an email saying that a special stake meeting had been called to discuss leadership changes and ward boundary changes. I saw Cecy that morning, she came over to help me sand boards, and she said, (I QUOTE), "All I can say is that Jason isn't going to be your bishop." Unfortunately for me, I didn't catch the emphasis on "your." At the stake meeting a couple of weeks later, Kristine's husband was released as bishop, and Cecy's husband was called as bishop, but the wards were also split and both of them were in the new High Desert ward while I remained in the Bear Canyon ward. And, she was right, Jason was not my bishop.
Anyway, back to the bookshelves: Cecy and Kristine soon learned that the most time consuming part of this project was the sanding and painting. We sanded and then primed. Sanded and then painted. Sanded and then painted again. If you can imagine, each bookshelf consisted of over a dozen parts. Multiply this by three and I'm sure you can envision my entire garage floor being covered with tarps and boards.
We carried on until everything was painted and sanded and ready to put together! I assembled my bookshelf a little ahead of theirs, to work out the kinks (because I was so excited), and then spent time one on one with each of them to put theirs together. Assembly took under two hours each time. The pocket holes were awesome. The trim was attached with finish nails. Kristine and I assembled hers out on my driveway. As it came together, I got more and more excited until I was ready to tell any random passer-by that we had made this beautiful thing ourselves. I did, in fact, tell a couple of my neighbors who saw us out there...
Here is Cecy with her bookshelf. We forgot to paint enough molding for the top - so she touched hers up later.

Me and my bookshelf. I decided not to do the bin at the bottom because I wanted mine for the living room. Cecy and Kristine were using theirs in their daughter's rooms.

We were finished with this project by the beginning of November. (I think.) I loved our time spent in the garage, talking about everything and working together. I'm pretty sure it's the best formula for making friends, as my best friends have always been ones that I've worked in the garage with. (I love you Tara and Taffy!).
I'm so glad Kristine suggested this project. I expect any day to get another email from her, "So, how hard to you think it'd be to make this..."
I can't wait...

Middle of Nowhere Affirmed

 Do you ever get done with the holidays and sort of wish that you could crawl in a hole and ignore the world for a few days? Well, lucky for me, and my family, we have the perfect "hole" to crawl into. Enter Lordsburg, New Mexico, the affirmed "Middle of Nowhere."

I don't mean this in any derogatory way. Truly. It really is wonderful to have a place to go that is slower, quieter, less demanding...And BONUS, my kids all slept well, every night of the three nights we were there. (I feel like I've arrived!)
A few months ago, as an incentive to Jacob to do his daily reading and homework consistently and without complaining, Rus promised a trip to Lordsburg to go coyote hunting. Jacob came through (barely...oh the trauma of nightly homework), and Rus came through, too. Rus' dad has a trap line for trapping coyotes, and Jacob and Rus were delighted to go Monday morning to help set up the trap line. They also did a little coyote hunting, albeit unsuccessfully, but had a great time. Jacob is his father's son, to be sure.
The next day, not wanting to leave the rest of us out of the fun, Rus and his dad took us to inspect the trap line (no coyotes), do a little geocaching, visit a [dry] lake, and roast hot dogs on an open fire, all made possible by miles and miles [and miles] of beautiful back country.
The geocaching was a huge hit.

 It had more than a little to do with the fact that Roger made these geocaches and they were filled with things each of the kids loved - an arrowhead for Jacob, plastic dinosaurs for Beau, frog key chain for Bekah, a necklace for Marianne...

I will freely admit that I knew (and still) know nothing about trap lines. When we went out to see if we'd trapped anything, Roger would point to a cow pie and say, "See the dirt next to that? That's where the trap is." It could have all been a ruse, really. I didn't see a single trap, just a lot of dirt and cow pies..

 "The trap is right there!" Riiiight... Whatever excuse you boys need to spend hours in the great outdoors...

 After the geocaching and mystic trap line, Roger and Rus promised the kids they could go play at a lake. "You kids can go as far as you want into the lake!"
Then he took them here:

 I guess that when it rains hard in Lordsburg, this dry lake bed fills up with water...but the other 364 days of the year it looks like this: Dry, endless, and actually sparsely beautiful, in my opinion. Grandpa had us doing a little hitchhiking here...

At first sight you may think this picture is washed out...but it's not. There's just nothing there...

 

 

 After the lake and miles and miles of more driving,
(passing this windmill...)

we found ourselves in Granite Gap, a rocky area that Rus prefaced with this: "If it doesn't have thorns, it's a rock." True, true...The kids loved climbing on the rocks and creating their own little kingdoms defended by yucca stalks.

Handsome Beau, King of the Rocks:

*Side note here - Rus decided to educate our children on Star Wars on this trip. They watched all six in the last five days. AND THEY LOVED IT. Rus is very proud. I'm breaking up light saber fights...*
Roger and Rus made a fire and we roasted hot dogs, chowed down on chips and chips ahoy and sodas. Low brow chow. Then we went bear hunting with Jacob's BB gun - man, the kids love plinking around with that little gun...(Rus in this case qualifies as a "kid") And then we drove home. Miles and miles of more backcountry. Rus and his dad avoid the freeway like it's the plague.
I also sewed a pillow top on this trip - a cute little thing that was paper pieced and Louise was kind enough to help me with. I ran, but it was a "vacation" sort of run in that I was able to go in the middle of the day. (Also it should be noted that it's the first time I have run looking over my shoulder to be sure a wild roaming bull didn't decide to test my sprinting abilities.) And I started a book...I don't think I've sat down and read a book for months. And I napped. (I'm not really a napper). It really was a great vacation. I love Roger and Louise. I love how they spiritually lead their family, taking real time to sit and talk and even preach about what's important. I am truly blessed with such wonderful second parents. (Even if they live in the middle of nowhere and at times define redneck, or "country"...)

Botanic Gardens at Thanksgiving

 When my parents were visiting for Thanksgiving, we took an afternoon to go play at the Botanic Gardens. It was beautiful weather and we all enjoyed getting out. My kids are getting too big. I'm going to have to start putting books on their heads to keep them from growing...
Here are the kids in the giant pumpkin...

 We were playing in the leaves when I mentioned to my parents how I had seen something on Pinterest about recreating old family photos (and how awkward that would be, given some of the poses we used). Bekah overheard this and wanted to pose just like my siblings and I had posed as children - so this picture is a re-creation of that. Can you imagine grown adults re-creating this pose?!

 I cannot overstate the love that Marianne has for her Grandma Cutesy. She cries for Cutesy when she is away and keeps her within arms length when she is visiting. And if she's it a good mood when missing Cutesy, she will sing an "Ode to Cutesy" that goes like this: "I LOVE my Cutesy...I LOVE my Cutesy!"

 I kept trying to get family pictures of all of us. I don't know why...I was wearing grungy clothes with my hair in a ponytail, and my kids were in random clothing - Jacob's shirt especially I would like to mysteriously disappear. And Marianne had crazy hair. And every time we took a picture the sun seemed to single out my face. I think I was channeling the last time I was there with my good friend and photographer Sarah and she was taking our very cute and well-planned family photos...

You may notice that Bekah has a cast. This was our first child with a broken bone, and it was so incredibly lacking in drama that it is barely worth mentioning. Rus and I went on a date, and sometime during that time Bekah stood on the arm of the couch...and then fell off and broke her wrist. When telling me what happened she said (and I quote), "Mom, remember how you told me not to stand on the arm of the couch? Well I guess I had to learn the hard way." Radial buckle fracture. Three weeks in a cast. Exciting amounts of attention. Dirtiest hand I ever saw (after that three week period). Anyway...back to the gardens...
 As much as Marianne loves her Cutesy, Grandpa Cutesy is not far behind. She seems to turn into a blushing, darling, sweet little thing whenever Grandpa dotes on her. And in turn, Grandpa melts a little each time Marianne takes to him. Their relationship is so sweet, I, as an onlooker, also melt...

And that was our day at the gardens...I feel so blessed every time I get to spend time with my parents. They are such amazing parents and even more amazing grandparents to my sometimes-crazy kids.