random thoughts

1. didn't want to do another post without a picture. I like this one. contemplating getting it big for the basement. everyone isn't in focus, but it is kind of fun.

2. I let Ben stay home yesterday- he said a teacher told him that if the buses weren't running, the kids should just stay home. Jack was really hoping the busses weren't running today, so he could stay home too, but sadly- for him, happily for me, the buses were running today.

does buses have one s or two? busses? I am not sure.

3. no school tomorrow. the kids get so many days off this month. madness. pure madness.

4. Cory comes home today. yay.

5. he has big plans to work on the basement on Saturday. yay.

6. -28 (or so) outside today. warming up a bit. haha.

7. I machine quilted this quilt the other day- in an attempt to get some old projects done, but sadly, I did not take my time, and do it right. I do that sometimes- okay, a lot, so anyways, I think I am going to have to pick it all out and do it again, but right this time, so I can be happy with it.

8. this cold weather is not doing good things for my poor hands. they are so dry and cracked up. yuck.

9. I had to retype yuck 4 times in number 8, and 3 times in this one. silly. just so you all know.

10. I think I am running out of things to say.

11. reading blogs is dangerous. reading crazy mom quilts is making me want to make all kinds of quilts. I still love her log cabin one. I think I might have to make one, just because. because I love it. that's why.

12. Cory's sister and her husband are in Cuba right now. yep, Cuba. how nice would that be? so, anyways, her two oldest boys are coming to spend the weekend with us. it's times like these when a basement would come in handy.

13. all of you who loved that little chick hat, you could own your own! by just going to my etsy shop and buying it! how great is that! I did sell an item! yay! - thanks Lynn.

baby, it's cold outside

so, after Ben came home, and said there were about 14 kids in the 2 grade 7 classes, and his friends said his mom was crazy for making him walk to school, I drove him this morning.
although today, added to the freezing (-35) is tons of fog. I really don't like fog. Kind of a claustrophobic thing, I think. feeling trapped, can't see what's ahead, you get the drift.
I wonder if it is better to just keep them home, and they can be put to work (or more likely do nothing) around here, or send them to school so they can do nothing there! we will go with the school thing! since teachers are there anyways, right?
I am feeling like chilli, and soups, and homemade bread. yumm. we'll have to see how productive my day is, although I thnk right now I will go join Maggie in my bed and watch some tv!
keep warm today!

what a day.

last night, President Hinckley, the prophet of our church died. what a great man he was. such a great sense of humor, and busy, and inspiring. a few weeks ago I finished up this stitchery of some great words of advice from that wonderful man. I am eager to get it framed and hanging in our kitchen to remind us all to be better! thanks President Hinckley!

yesterday some very cold weather blew in, and snow, and nastiness. this morning I laid in bed listening to the radio waiting to hear that the schools were closed, but no such luck, so I bundled the kids up warm and sent them across the street. so nice that we live so close! Poor Ben had to walk farther to his school, but I wasn't willing to go outside, and drive on these bad roads to get him there. bad mom. they say it is -30 , but with the wind chill, -45. yuck. I should probably get out there and shovel off the steps.

Cory was supposed to be driving to Calgary today, but he changed his plans, and now he is flying. maybe I'll get Cory to shovel before he leaves!

I see a lot of hot chocolate drinking in our near future. yum.

random thoughts of a new day

1. well, my rant is over, the boys have done a few dishes, the laundry was caught up yesterday- WAS being the key word- now the baskets are filling up again. why, oh why can it not stay done for longer than a day? is that too much to ask? yes, it is.

2. my phone was not working yesterday. weird to have it not ring all day, and not be able to communicate when I wanted to. then, at the end of the day I realized I do have a cell phone I could have used. oh well, kind of nice to not have it ringing with calls from telemarketers all day. but now it is working, so if anyone was trying to call me, try again! (except those telemarketers!)

3. we had our book club yesterday. the book was Anne of Green Gables. I was glad it was picked, because that is probably not a book I would just pick up and read, yet I really enjoyed it, and want to go see if my mom has the rest in the series, so I can read some more! it is my turn to choose the book for March. any suggestions?

4. Maggie is currently wearing her last diaper. I wish it truly could be her last diaper, but she is not to that stage yet. Of course, I went shopping yesterday, and completely forgot about diapers, so have to go out again today.

5. I am realizing the best way to not spend money is to just stay home! Babysitting all the time is a good thing, because I never leave the house, so I never spend money.

6. have you checked out my shop lately? stocked up with some good stuff.
I've got to get the word out! really want to sell something, sometime! anyone? anyone?

7. at the grocery store yesterday they had a huge block of cream cheese on clearance- and I mean huge! It cost as much for the huge one, as a regular one usually does. so today, I think I need to make a cheesecake. yum. and they had tons of meat on half price. I am all about buying the deals, and stocking my freezer. maybe when I go back today I can find some more great deals. is it okay to spend money, to save money? does that make any sense?

8. I am still caught up in the quilt block thingy, but I am thinking I have two blocks that I want to redo with different fabrics. then they will all coordinate more nicely together.

9. okay, seriously, if you knew someone who didn't sing very well, why would you encourage them to try out for American Idol? some of those people you just have to wonder about. funny that they really think they can sing. funny that no one saved them the agony and told them they can't sing.

10. also posted a couple of pages at twopeas if you are interested in seeing them, click on the link -->

11. Jed wants to play the piano in a festival coming up, and he had a song his teacher had picked for him, that he has been playing like crazy, and yesterday he was saying that he thinks he wants to do a more challenging peice. what?!? very impressive. we'll see what his teacher says- lessons are tonight.

12. how's the basement coming along? you might ask- or at least my mom and mother-in-law will ask- that is always their first question. well, let me tell you! no word from the drywallers, which I am not really suprised at. but Cory was working down there last night, and Monday night, and is almost done the last bedroom, then all we have left are the main family room ,and the hallways, which Cory says will go quickly. so, sometime in the spring. maybe.

13. funny. just noticed that I said 'all WE have left' like I have anything at all to do with the progress in the basement! I will be down there painting, although I have been told that Cory is doing all the decorating and deciding. hmmm. I have a bunch of pictures that are going up somewhere down there! probably on the big wall behind where the couch will be. I hope he is planning that in!

I want a raise

do you ever feel like the maid?
the over worked, and severely underpaid maid?
why am I the only one in this house who ever unloads the dishwasher?
and if I don't unload it, then the dishes are piled up beside the sink, and I have to unload and load. at least if I unload it, the kids can load their own dishes- well, they can, but they don't always do it.
and laundry- don't get me started! the boys were complaining this morning that they had no clean socks. well. I went on a rampage. -if you put your socks in the dirty clothes, I do wash them, and usually even put them in your drawers. maybe they should check all their drawers since usually, they just throw all their clean clothes together into one drawer, no matter what was in the pile.
I guess it isn't really so bad.
the kids do do their one job each day. and sadly that is asking alot.
how do you teach kids to take responsibility for their own stuff, and some of the family stuff around the house? I really need to get my kids to be helpful, and happy to help, and not complaining that they do all the work around here-
because, really,
we all know who really does all the work around here-
right?

Saturday at our house

the computer, the game cube and the laptop are running

pictures are being drawn,

and cookies are being made. and eaten. yum
these were at happier times. now the boys are wrestling, and crying and fighting. they have already been sent outside to shovel. and sent to their rooms. good times. such is my life. good times.

13

1. 13 is the actual number of kids I had at my house after school yesterday. I will show you the math. 5 are mine ( that is a houseful, right there!!) then I had one boy I was watching while his mom was at the hospital with her grandma. I had him from 11:00, when he got out of kindergarten, till his mom came to pick him up when she came and got her other kids after school. that is 6. then I had the 2 girls that I usually babysit. we are up to 8. then the other girl that I get every day after school. 9. then I had one little boy most of the day- he mom is off to Washington for her grandfathers big 80th birthday bash, and his 3 brothers came over after school until their dad came to pick them up. there we go. 13. and it was very crazy for a while there. today I will only have 12. easy peasy. ha.

2. put a few things in my etsy shop! sweater and hat set are in there. wish I had a baby boy I could model it on, looks much cuter on a baby, of course.

3. so today started out at -4 degrees, or so the radio said, and it is supposed to go down to -13 tonight. yuck. and it is snowing right now. double yuck.

4. I moved the 2 big bins of Christmas stuff out to the back steps to get them out of the house, but didn't get them all the way to the garage, and now they are getting covered with snow. sheesh. should have jsut carried them the few more feet to the garage. I was hoping Cory might do it, but no.

5. I had seen a few blogs with cute self portrait pictures, so I attempted. wow. it is hard getting a good picture of yourself. never mind that I really don't like any pictures of myself, but here is one that was okay. here is me!

6. the kid's school put out a video of the christmas concert, and we watched the kids classes as soon as they got home from school the other day. watching the finale- the hallelujah song, still gave me chills! it is funny because most of the kids are just yelling it. but it gave me chills none the less. I love that our school can include Christ in our christmas concerts. one of the classes even did a little play of the nativity. love it!

7.I must confess, I am an ice chewer. I fill cups up with ice and eat them. I crave ice. lots of times when I am in the van driving, I wish for a cup of ice. Jack got a free meal at McDonalds, and when he came home he even gave me his cup of ice. I could have low iron. that might be behind it all. I should probably get that checked. Cory says I will ruin my teeth.

well, my cup is empty, I need to go get more ice!

8. this is the usual state of my living room. little people everywhere. what was I thinking getting more of that for Maggie for christmas? the big peices are so big, and storing them- not easy. when we finish that basement we will have to get a spot just for the little people stuff.

9. no progress on the basement to report. sadly. hopefully soon, but I am not holding my breath.

10. I worked on the girls easter dresses last night. almost done Maggies, and I had her try it on to see how long I needed to make it, and it is a bit big. hmm. maybe I should see if it fits Sadie! I don't think Maggie will grow too much in the next 2 months.

11. I have some cream cheese brownies in the fridge that are calling my name. can you hear it? come to my house, and they can call your name too!

12. thinking a bunch about the girls night out with the goodie box girls. could be fun. it's filling up fast, so I need to act. I really want to see what the projects are- see if they are up my alley- right now I am leaning towards taking myself to the scrapbook store and buying a whole lot of stuff, and doing my own thing. I am bad at making decisions! Kim and Talia, show me some stuff! help me decide!

13. wow, I am already done my quilt square for the week! sort of on the ball with that one. now if only I can get on the ball with the rest of my life! haha.

insanity

for a brief time after school I should have 12 children here.
oh that I had a basement to send them to.
someday.
I guess I should work on an awesome after school snack, eh?

so..

the basket ball games were interesting. apparently the first game, which Cory went to, was played against giant grade 7-ers. I kept hearing how huge the boys were. Ben said they all must have failed a grade or two. needless to say, they lost. so , then they had another game on Saturday, which they lost, then one more, which they also lost. sad. but, they did well, having only 8 boys there, so, they all played a lot. Ben was probably the best shooter on the team. the last game they scored 7 points total, and 4 of them were Ben's! this picture is ben shooting a foul shot- he missed both times, but they all get an A for effort!

isn't she cute? haha.

so, apparently they have another game tonight, I don't know when or where, since Ben missed school yesterday- he was sick, and the coach didn't know any details about it, until Monday morning.

so, a little over half the basement is drywalled- yay! but the two guys who know what they are doing were going to stop by yesterday to do a bunch more, but never came. I guess I shouldn't complain, when they are doing it all for free- and they are professionals! but I am antsy to have a finished basement. it will be so nice.

forgot

1. totally forgot, until I was lying in bed this morning that it was thursday yesterday, and I forgot to do the thursday thirteen. shame on me.

2. dry wall should be coming today, and up tomorrow. hurray!

3. even though I said I wasn't going to participate in any more swaps, I am doing this one. I am excited. now my girls dolls can have some clothes to wear! (or I am thinking I might have to keep them myself and hang them on a clothes line in my laundry room!) I guess we will have to see if they fit or not. that will be the deciding factor.

4. so yesterday I deleted a whole bunch of blogs from my favorites- blogs I was reading every day, but decided I didn't really care so much about them. I feel free-er now. is that a word? more time wasted on things I want to waste my time on! haha

5. I started a new project. a little sweater and hat set I want to put up on etsy. I have been with etsy for a while now, and not yet sold a thing. what is up with that? I am going to have one last go at it. put a bunch of stuff in my little shop, and if none of it sells, that is it, it is over! I think it is such a great thing, but not working so great for me. hmmm. one last try. so, if you want anything, buy it! heehee.

6. it will probably be next week that I will put stuff in there. I will let you all know when the shop is full!

7. so, the girl I babysit after school's brother wasn't feeling well, so I have him here today. if my kids are home sick they are in bed, yet he is here laying with Maggie. do I make him go back to school or bed? I think I will give him that choice at lunch time. no goofing off around here, dude!

8. made another batch of granola. I really love that stuff.

9. so, I love blogging so much, I have been hired to blog!
how fun is that! a friend of mine has a photography business, and never updates her blog, so I bug her, and now she is paying me to update it for her! awesome!

10. so, so much for the not starting any new project thing. I am so bad!
on new years day fabricland had a big sale, so I bought fabric and a pattern for the girls easter dresses. yes, I know after the Christmas dress disaster I swore off sewing dresses, but I think these will be so much easier. anyways, that fabric was sitting there, taunting me, so I cut out one of the dresses. they are going to be cute!

11. Ben is on his junior high basket ball team and they have a tournament tonight and tomorrow. funny, because they haven't even played a game yet. should be interesting.

12. really, really want to do some scrapbooking. maybe if Ben wins his game- the first one is at 4, then he won't play again til tomorrow, so I can have tonight to do some. I think I just need to get some new pictures printed out, my old ones are just that, old, and not inspiring me. I am in a funk, need some inspiration! I guess I just need to spend more time on the internet! haha.

13. so, I need to get out of the house, go get some lettuce, the boys informed me as they were making their sandwiches this morning, and we need new sleds, and Jack needs new mittens. oh, and Cory needs more tuck tape for whatever he needs to finish in the basement before the drywall can go up!good times. right after lunch, and I get that boy back to school (hopefully), Maggie and I can head out! fun times.

done

feels good to be done these three hats. they turned out pretty cute. once again my sister has gone out and gotten me some 'business'. nice to use up some of the huge stash of yarn I have been accumulating.
also, earlier than usual, I finished week 8 of the quilt-a-long. usually I am at least a week or two, or four behind. now I am right on schedule! yay.
I have been making a list each night of some things I want to get done the next day. that has been useful- so when I am sitting around doing nothing, it comes to mind, and I look, and do something constructive. I feel like I am getting things done, so that is a good thing.
I am trying very hard not to start new projects until some of the old ones are done- so this is a small step in that direction.

so, I guess I had too little faith in the dry wall guy. he came over last night to measure, and will be here on Saturday to put it up- with Cory and whoever he can wrangle to come and help. the missionaries always offer to help, so Cory called them last night to see if they could come, and they are actually helping another guy in the ward, who is building a new house, hang drywall that day. funny. maybe they like to paint!

sad

I might have spoken too soon.
I think I was just too excited.
now I am back to the denial stage.
he will never come.

the drywall guy was supposed to come on monday to do some measurements. he didn't, but he had a really good reason why.
then he was going to come yesterday.
he didn't.
not sure why.

first he was going to come and do the drywall on Friday. then after the first incident, it was changed to Saturday.
now I don't know where we stand. when? I just need to know!
sadness.
could still happen. who knows.

on a much happier note-
I won something on Becky Higgin's blog! wow. like 800 people commented! I am the Kristi from Alberta! I guess I really need to work on my food storage now! haha.
it is a book on organizing scrapbooking rooms and stuff. such a good thing for me right now- well, when ever I get that scrapbooking room!
and I used to say I never win anything. hmm. maybe I should go enter some more contests before my luck runs out again!

it's a date!

we now have a date!
a real date!

no, not Cory and I-

a date for the drywall guy to come!
yay!
I am so excited.
he is coming on Friday.
hurray!
the end is near.
my dining room can soon be a dining room.
my food storage can be in a real room, and not in my closet.
and my linens can all go in the closet that will have room because the food will be gone.
I have waited for this day for months and months.
still much to be done, but it now the end is in sight.
a basement. ahhh. can't wait.

square

here they are, my 7 squares. feels good to be caught up! they are from this blog : crazy mom quilts. five more weeks to go! she makes some very cute, and inspiring quilts!

I have been wanting to start so many new projects, but once again am thinking I really need to get finishing some that are already started. such as my snowman quilt I made over a year ago, he is just waiting for some arms to be appliqued. and my other snowman quilt that just needs some batting and quilted and bound. and many stitchings that need to be done, and on and on! so, before I start any new ones, a few older ones must be finished!

almost 13

1. so , you know the Christmas song with the line- Mom and dad can hardly wait for school to start again? yah, that's about where I am at.

2. I am caught up with my quilt squares for the quilt along! yay. will have to take pictures of them tomorrow when the sun is shining.

3. here is a shot of Sadie from the front with her cute hair cut. so easy to do, and no long hair to brush through. but no ponies and braids. I do miss those, a bit.

4. my hair cutting sister is taking a break, and my boys were looking like shaggy on scooby doo, so I pulled out Cory's clippers and went to it, and they don't look to shabby, if I say so myself!

5. how can I have a 12 year old child? when did this happen? I can't be that old, can I? scary stuff.

6. if anyone hears of a fantastic sale on nintendo DS, let me know- they are part of my Christmas plans for next year. nothing like getting a head start on Christmas shopping! just looking out for the deals, because I am thinking I might need 4 of them, so they are all even- you know how it is.

7. I took some pictures for a couple that used to be in our ward, but moved away, but their house is still for sale 4 months later. that's tough, I think it is a sign that they should move back! so anyways, her family was hanging out at their home here on Saturday and I got to take pictures of them all, this was one of them I thought was fun.

8. took pictures for another friend, but the lighting was not good, and there are a lot of blurry ones. not good. need to play around, see what I can do to fix them up, if anything.

9. so, no drywall in the basement yet. the latest was that the guy said between Christmas and new years. yah, that's come and gone, and still no drywall. I am sad. can't wait, need more space- for the kids, for the stuff that is crammed everywhere.

10. speaking of stuff, I bought myself a book- Cory and I each filled our own stockings this year. I think it is great, then I know I will get stuff I want! haha. anyways, back to the book, it is called, It's all too much by Peter Walsch. he is the organizer guy on Clean Sweep. inspired once again to get rid of the extra stuff. I went through the girls clothes, now that Sadie is 6, she has to make a fuss whenever the tags say 5, so I pulled out the too big stuff, went through it , got rid of some, some worn out too small stuff, man, that feels good. cleaning it out. need to do more of that! much more.

11. I have been getting rid of more things, not just the girls clothes, that was just one example. did some movies, my t- shirts, the cabinet in my bathroom. so much more to go!

12. hmm. I am sitting here thinking of what to say and drawing a complete blank. I think it is time for bed!

back with pictures of quilt squares tomorrow!