I Got Bit By A Bug!

I did get bit by a bug on Monday...the creative bug that is.

Recently, Ruby has taken to untying the ties to her crib bumper pad. Unfortunately, in the untying process, the ribbon has started to unravel. I would pull her away and tell her "No," and then she'd do it again. One morning before church, I went in to pick her up and found the ribbon had frayed and was wrapped in tiny strands around her head! I freaked out and began cutting the ribbon off the pad. So then she had a bumper pad that couldn't stay tied to the crib. This, of course, necessitated a trip to the fabric store.

So with 4 little ones in tow, I drove off to the store to pick up some heavy duty, unfraying ties for her bumper pad. I chose a nice thick bias tape and as we were walking around the fabrics the girls asked if I could make them a blanket. I have already made them blankets and at the time they were pointing to fleece. If anyone knows what the weather has been like out here, they'd know that we've been in the 100 degree mark most of the week. Who wants to snuggle up with a fleece blanket in this weather? Ok, maybe my girls but I talked them out of another blanket and we settled on a pillow.

They chose coordinating fabrics, my rule was that it had to somewhat match their bedspreads. This took A LONG TIME to find. Anyhow, after they chose their fabrics, we found pillow stuffing and we set off to find the next project.

Earlier this school year, Jena brought home two crafts she'd made in Art class, her favorite class, by the way. I was so impressed with the craft that I actually kept it, (shh, don't tell not everything gets kept) and I hung them on her wall. But as their styles have changed, they really don't know what they want their room to look like, I have decided that the crafts would look good in Ruby and Annie's rooms. Lucky me the frames I found were half off that day.

We loaded back up after purchasing our projects and headed home. At rest time I started the projects. Ruby's ties went on quite easily.

She seemed to be happy that the pad was up, since she crawled over to a tie and tried to untie it. Ha, ha, momma is smarter now and just tied it in a knot, not a pretty little bow this time.

The crafts went easily into their new frames and I hung each above the girls' cribs. The elephant went above Ruby's crib and the giraffe hangs above Annie's crib. Annie signs giraffe everytime she gets in bed now.

Jena and Paige's pillows took more time since the fabric needed washing, pressing, cutting and then finally sewed together. They were really happy.

Annie on the other hand didn't understand why the girls got new pillows and she didn't have anything to hold. With the extra material from Paige's pillow, I surprised Annie and made her a sling for her baby. She loves it and it makes me proud that I did it all by myself. Annie thought she was hot stuff since she looks like mommy does in her sling with baby Ruby.

I'm glad I got bit by the creative bug this week. I was feeling like I don't do much to nurture my little creative side and it was nice to see the work all come together, even if it is just little work.

A Day in My Life

I got this idea from my sister-in-law, Jenny. Quite often Jenny will take a camera around with her documenting her day. I thought that I would give it a try. I didn't get very far. I will say, "Kudos" to Jenny for her diligence in giving so many of her readers a great view into one of her days. I, on the other hand, can only give you about a third of my day! I got a bit too distracted and completely forgot most of the day. Here goes:

Breakfast began at 8am. I served up scrambled eggs, cinnamon toast, bananas and milk. I will say not every breakfast is quite this big of an affair, but at least once or twice a week, the girls are given a special big breakfast. They gobbled their food up quickly!

Even little Ruby anxiously awaits her rice cereal now. Breakfast prep certainly takes longer than it used to. But Ruby somehow understands her wait and smiles while Mommy prepares the meal.

Most mornings over the past 4 weeks have been rushing around to do early morning chores before heading out the door for swim lessons. The girls are on their last week of lessons and I think they are doing a great job keeping up! They have made new friends and love their teachers. They will be sad when the lessons are over. But each day are eager to share what they worked on.

Before lessons they spend 15-20 minutes working on their summer lessons. They are working through a workbook to review and prepare them for the upcoming school year. Annie even has one, shh, we don't tell her it is just a Dora coloring book. Mommy has to grade hers just like she does the girls! After each 2 week review the girls choose a goal to work towards. Their first session included an ice cream cone. This session they are working towards a smoothie from Starbucks. They just have 3 days left of this session and they are eager to get their smoothies!

As stated before we have morning chores before we can head out the door. Generally it has been only me that has the chores but this summer we've spread the love! The girls have their own chore charts and are very willing to help me out! They certainly are old enough to help out, even Annie can do a few. Here is my typical list for the week. I have found a dry-erase board helps me throughout the week keep everything in order.

Speaking of chores: Mondays are laundry days. Generally speaking I have anywhere from 6-10 loads of laundry to wash. Those 10 load Mondays usually stretch out to Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday laundry days. But I am happy to report I finished all 6 loads yesterday, I was up till 11:30pm folding and putting clothes away but boy am I proud of myself for getting it all done!

In the midst of all those chores, we made a date with Duane to have lunch. We picked him up after swim lessons and ate at Planet Sub. After lunch with daddy and spotting some turtles in the pond next to the sub shop, we headed off to Target to purchase a few items. We made it home in time for nap time. All the girls fell fast asleep and I got to have some quiet time to myself. I just started a new study by Beth Moore on the fruits of the Spirit.

After a dinner of yummy ravioli, our favorite crunchy bread and a huge salad, I drove over to Lowes to pick up some blinds for the dining room. I spent the better part of an hour getting 5 blinds cut to fit our abnormal windows. After paying for the blinds and seeing that I had spent enough money for 2 weeks worth of groceries, the cashier pointed out that I was eligible for a $25 rebate. SCORE! We'll hold on to that rebate to use next time we're at Lowes, which will be very soon. In the midst of this weekend. We began a project we'd started some time ago, trim work. All of our trim in the house was painted a flat off-white, it looks like someone has smoked next to it. So in order to look better, we decided to paint all of it. Duane is painstakingly taking off all the hardware, boiling the paint off and spray painting it all black. It will look incredible when it is all done. He is definitely the one to pay attention to the details, me, not so much.

We took about an hour and a half to hang these 3 blinds. They make the room look so different, today we will hang the other 2 blinds and put up the black hardware. It is coming along, finally!

Exhausted I fall into bed at midnight and read a bit to make my mind fall asleep! Waking at 7am the next day begins the day all over!

Swim Lessons

SWIM LESSONS!!!

Jena and Paige at the pool

We signed the girls up for swim lessons this summer. They got a new swimsuit and towel to make the week a bit brighter! In their own words they've learned how to do "front floats, back floats, front glides, kicks and nose bubbles." My pride has grown watching them both conquer a new skill they will use the rest of their life. In the midst of these first two weeks, I have met and become friends with another mother whose children were also taking lessons.

Jena, Annie, Maria, Ruby and Paige

Last week, they thought that they were done but we slipped another 2 weeks in on them! Duane had a day off last week and was able to join us for lessons and fun in the park.

Jena, Ruby, Duane, Annie and Paige

Afterwards, as an incentive for them, we took them to one of our favorite restaurants in town, a little cafe', and we treated them to lunch. After lunch, Duane surprised them by buying them each a chocolate covered strawberry. Annie thought that it was delicious!Annie and her monkey