Not much going on around here. I'm back at home three of five weekdays and loving (mostly) every second of it (why won't you fall asleep child?!). Rhett's at the new babysitter for my two works days, and I think he'll do great there. Chuck is back at work and will face his 144 new students on Monday. Yesterday's high was in the 70s. Don't be too jealous; today will be back in the 80s. Life is good!
Except for yesterday when, for the first time in my life, I can honestly say that I got dressed in the dark and really regretted it. I was at the Metro before I realized my shoes did NOT at all go with my pants. Good thing I sit in a cubicle all day and see almost nobody. Bad thing I had a team kick-off meeting and I'm sure everyone noticed my shoes. Good thing that they're even nerdier than I am so I don't care. Phew. But still, dressed in the dark = living on the wild side.
And finally, we did this to the playroom wall during a recent TV-free Monday. I love it.
To the family reunion I brought along some "Get To Know You" pages for everyone in the family to fill out. And to my surprise, everyone did! Even the kids seemed to enjoy the project. Each page asked the name, age, and fun facts about that person (favorite book, favorite animal, favorite place to be, etc.). Why? Rhett has 21 cousins on his paternal side of the family. Twenty of those cousins live at least five hours away. He doesn't have a chance to get to know them or his aunts and uncles. I thought that I could create a book with these pages and then we can read them and slowly get to know the entire family. (I cheated and added my side of the family to the book too.) I them uploaded the pdf document to Lulu, a self-publishing company. Ordering the 50-page, soft-bound book cost only $15, and it arrived quickly. I am so excited about it I can barely stand it. The kids are hysterical and say funny things. I love how it turned out.
It's no secret that I hate summer. It's in my blood to hate it: my dad hates it, my sister hates it, and although my brother does most of his work during the summer, he only works to pay for his winter spent skiing, so I'm pretty sure he prefers the cold too. Growing up in a house where the thermostat was kept in the 60s pretty much ensures this.
Chuck and I did the summer switch again this year. After the success of last year, we thought it made sense. This year it was much harder, though. I think this was because of two reasons. First, our week-long trip was near the beginning of the summer rather than in the middle like last year. That made the summer drag (you mean I have to work five days a week for HOW many weeks in a row?!). Second, I like Rhett so much more this summer compared to last. He is so much more fun (and easy) to be around. I really, really missed him. Of course there were the usual things I missed by not being at home as much: making dinner, cleaning the house, grocery shopping, nap times. But mostly I missed the kid.
Every year I complain about Maryland's humidity. I really think it's the worst thing ever, and I honestly can't imagine why people would move to Maryland for any other reason other than they have a fiance just starting graduate school. Honestly. It's horrible here. So when summer started last year, Chuck had this idea of counting all the gross days. My response? "Hooray! Counting!" To my surprise, we had very, very few of them last year. Maybe five. We didn't even get through Memorial Day weekend this summer before I'd already passed last year's total. By now we've had over 50 days of 90+ degree days. Remember, that's 90 degrees with intense humidity. So you Utahans who had 1-2 days of humid weather? Try that times, like, 25. Nasty.
Because of this horrible, horrible weather, one thing I did not do this summer was run. Which kills me. I feel fat and lazy and I don't like myself as much. It makes running harder when I'm able to start again. Everything about it sucks. Except for the free Saturdays. Once we took advantage of me not running and went to Eastern Market. That was fun. But most of the time it's just depressing.
I apologize for the post with almost nothing uplifting. But that's what summer does to me. I think I have that Seattle disease, you know, SAD (seasonal affective disorder). But mine comes from too much heat and humidity and the Metro. I wish I was kidding. Sure there were some good moments (family reunion in Idaho, the earthquake, the beach trip, Rhett's easy transition to a "little guy" bed, and not losing power once during all the ridiculous storms) but come on Fall!
The good news is that Chuck goes back to work on Monday! (In case you're wondering, he's got all Geometry this year, one of which is ESOL and the other four are honors. Don't be fooled by the "honors" title, however. That just means his kids might recognize the numbers and symbols on the calculator they rely on to calculate 4 X 5.) I get back to regular running on Monday!! Rhett and I get back to playgroup next Friday!!! I get to feel like the wife, mother, and erin that I enjoy!!!! Happy times are ahead. I can feel it. Plus, I ate my first candy corns of the season. That's got to be a harbinger of goodness, right?
Oh, and for just a couple of days, we set up my backpacking tent in the basement. Rhett LOVED it. The end.
My totally awesome sister-in-law found these adorable fonts (yes, fonts that print as these pictures) that are just SCREAMING to be used craft-ily. But how? Freezer paper stencils, sure, but on what? Or as stickers? Or put on canvas and hung? I can't even tell you how much I absolutely love these but want something worthy of them. So tell me, how should I use them?
I admit that I am slightly OCD when it comes to crossing off things. Be they calendar days or grocery list items, I will sometimes make lists after the fact just so I can cross them off. So I knew that when I perused my new birthday book (Thanks again, em!) that this countdown chain would be the first thing I made. It took some time (31 links will do that), but I am super excited about it. Currently there are four links on it: four being the number of full-time days of work left for me before I return to part-time! Sweet.
And because my mother-in-law requested a couple of ties for someone's baby, I thought Rhett could use a new one too. So this is what he got.
Is anyone else hating Blogger's new upload tool? Blech!
Let's say that you have a two-year-old. You also have a husband, with whom you'd like to go out on dates occasionally. Doing so requires a babysitter. But your lovely son goes to bed easily at 6:45 p.m. In theory, babysitter could come over at 7 p.m. and when you get home around 10 or 11, all sitter would have done is sat and watched TV, played Wii, checked Facebook, read, texted...whatever. But no feedings, no playings, no diaper changes; no interaction with the kid at all. Once the kid is asleep, he's asleep.
Question: What do you pay the babysitter for this? (Remember, where you live, the going rate for babysitting is $10/hour.)
If the stores can start selling Halloween stuff, so can I right? I mass produced these candy corn banners some time ago, but thought it best to wait a bit to list them. Once I started seeing Halloween decor in the stores, I knew it was time for me too.
Anyway, tell your friends! Better yet, buy one for your friends. (Kidding, kidding.)
Update: I sold one the very first day I listed them! Sweet.
[Rhett's stomping his feet on his chair while sitting in the booster seat.] Me: What are you doing? Rhett: Stomping my old feet. Me: Where are your new feet? Rhett: In the closet!
[Rhett is crying in the grocery store because we're taking him from something he really wants to see. We give him a package of turkey pepperoni to see if that will pacify him. It does.] Rhett: Rhett happy now. Meat made Rhett happy.
[Rhett was just told that his cute cousin, Carolina, was coming over to play. He ran to the window.] Rhett: Rhett waiting to see Carolina. [Awwwww....]
[In the car in traffic on the way home...] Rhett: [quite loudly] Get out of the way car! Me: Okay. I'll admit to saying things at cars. But this is NOT something I say! Where does he get this?!
Me: Rhett, what's your favorite part of Family Home Evening? Rhett: Chocolate milk!
I love schedules and routines, especially when they concern Rhett. However, I have to learn that sometimes it's okay if he doesn't nap. (I know, I know; everyone else in the world seems to know this but me. I'm slow.) This weekend strengthened my testimony of that. When we were turned away from our hotel, thereby missing Friday's afternoon nap, I was pretty devastated (I needed that nap too!). But shortly after arriving at the beach, my fears were allayed. Rhett was pretty stoked to be playing in the giant sandbox (We drove how far and for how long and in how much traffic just to play in a sandbox?! Kidding. Kind of.), whilst Chuck and I enjoyed the waves and people watching. In case you were wondering: Chuck is definitely the better boogie boarder of the two of us. We played at FunLand, ate good food, and saw the sculptures. Good times had by all. The only regret is that given a TV with cable (which we don't have at home), what do I watch? Only one hour of a show I'd seen the day before on Hulu. Totally depressing.
On the way home, we stopped at a dairy farm that makes its own ice cream. Can you say delicious? I had the chocolate banana walnut, Chuck had the peanut butter ripple, and plain chocolate for the little guy. Check out the last pictures; think he liked it?
So my birthday was this week. (In case you're wondering, that makes 33 years old. Hooray for odd numbers AND multiples of 11!). I don't know why people say this to me, but I think it's funny when they do: "You're so hard to buy for!" What the what?! Really?! 'Cause I think I'm pretty easy. Seriously. For future reference, here's a list of things you can pick from:
1. Gift certificate to fabric store. JoAnn, G Street, Capital Quilts, I'm not picky. And I can always use new fabric. Or I always want new fabric. Sometimes I get my wants and needs confused. 2. Gift certificate to get a pedicure. I would get one of these four times a month if I could somehow justify spending that money. 3. Gift certificate to a running store. No matter when you give this to me, I'm sure I need new shoes. 4. Gift certificate to McDonald's. I know, I know. Sounds horrible. But I love me some McDonald's ice cream cones. 5. A case of the red pepper jelly I talked about a couple of weeks ago. The stuff is just that good.
But, don't worry; even if you don't get me one of these things, I'm sure you'll do fine! Or get me nothing at all! I mean, really, I'm 33. Who cares!? When one of my best presents was my missing 3/4-cup measuring cup, I think I'm pretty easy.
So what did I do for the big day? Unfortunately, I had to work. Fortunately, I got a visit from my favorite guys at work! I showed Rhett my office and then we went to lunch. (He showed my boss how well he breakdances. It was awesome.) After lunch we went and got one frozen yogurt to share. BIG mistake. Rhett does NOT share ice cream. When I came home, Rhett and I went on a date to the library. We then returned home to a dinner of carrot cake pancakes and then this lovely cake, made by Chuck. That man is creative! Then the birthday song and a snuggle with my boy before bedtime. Why the face, Rhett? Oh yeah, it's because he really wants cake. My lovely sister gave me this lovely book. When I realized my entire fabric stash is entirely scraps, I knew it was perfect for me. I already started working on one project, even though I should be working on those pajamas for my sis. (I think she'll forgive me.) It was a pretty good day.
I know I've lauded the Unique Thrift Store before, and I know for many of you, you need no convincing. But I just can't help sing its praises again. I mean, check out all these goodies I bought on Monday. I know Rhett has enough books, but when these are less than 50 cents a piece, how can I say no? (He also got a pair of rain boots. That boy loves puddles.) And these sheets? Hello?!? Won't they make the most wonderful pajama pants and shorts? Emily, name your favorite print and they're yours---a sort of "birthing gift." Chuck got some gifts too, but those I'm holding for his birthday next month. Another worthwhile trip!
I go through sewing spurts: times when nothing inspires me and I have no money to buy fabric. But then a tidal wave occurs and I want to make every single thing I want to see. I'm definitely in that tidal wave now. Can you tell?
The pillow I made to accompany Rhett's new bed. I finished it in the same way that I did this pillow. The pajama shorts for ME, not for HIM. I was inspired to add the funny bloomer-like elastic around the bottoms; I love them! I am trying to create a go-to pajama pant pattern. I made the first pair out of this same fabric last night. They're close, but not perfect (dang my huge thighs!). I'm going to the thrift store today to track down more sheets for these. They're perfect for summer. A pillowcase dress for my niece's birthday. A different kind of birthday banner; only eight months until we can use it! It's reusable in that the number can come off and then another one will replace it the next year. I like J. Caroline's better, but am fairly pleased with how this turned out. Freezer paper stencilled pillowcases for Rhett. I don't recommend this. The paint isn't very soft and isn't exactly what you want next to your head. I used the negatives from the freezer paper on the other sides. You're seeing the only side of the robot pillowcase that Rhett will allow to touch his head. These are the "nice robots." The other side contains the "mean robots." The shade for our new, big window in our basement room. A growth chart for a friend of mine for her daughters' Christmas present. (Please no comments about me making Christmas gifts already. It's just how I function. I know I'm crazy.) Sorry to spoil the surprise Angie! It'll be in the mail soon. (And I hope you like it.) That big white square? The last name of the girls. I just didn't want it out there for the whole world to see. But trust me; it's cute. A Thanksgiving Countdown calendar. How cute is this? LeAnne from Everyday Celebrations let me help her by doing a pattern test for this pattern she created. The pattern was super easy to follow and I love the result! Only three more months until I can hang it in my house. Now to do the Christmas one. You can see LeAnne's patterns in her Etsy shop. Go check out her other cute things for sale. Those quiet book kits are awesome. This funny "visor" that looks more like something the pioneers would wear. My sister made one for her daughter and hers turned out way better than mine. Do you think I can still wear it places? And what, exactly, is wrong with my skin in this picture? Holy moly it looks bad. (The first time I typed that it came out "holy mole." Mmmm....maybe I should make some mole sauce. Do you think Chuck would eat it?) Finally: as if Rhett needs something else to keep him busy during Sacrament meeting. (Although, now we're only letting him bring two or three of these quiet toys each week. The older he gets, the fewer we'll bring.) I got this tutorial from Jill at Homemade by Jill. Super cute and easy. I didn't do the piping because (1) I'm afraid of it and (2) I'm afraid of it. So there.
For some time I've thought that Rhett's room needed updating. It felt more like a "baby's" room and not a "little guy's" room. When we changed the bed, I thought it was a great opportunity to make additional changes. I wanted his room to be a place where he wanted to hang out and be, not just a room for sleeping and changing diapers. I think we're definitely closer to that goal. Here are some of the things we did:
1. The curtains came around the summer solstice. Rhett had been waking with the sun...around 5 a.m. Obviously this was quite unacceptable so we went right out and found some new curtains. I'm pleased with these. (Now if only it would cool down some so we could keep the curtains open during the day.)
2. We ditched the overflowing stacks of books and pile of animals by sorting them into four groups. We then rotate these four groups every week. I can't believe what a difference this has made in our ability to control the mess. Every Monday before bed time, Chuck makes the switch and Rhett loves the "new" animals and the "new" books that get brought from their "sabbaticals." We like it because reading the same books over and over quickly gets old.
3. We added the little table and the bean bag chair. The table can be used for drawing, crafting, etc. and the bean bag chair for reading. His interest in doing these things in his room have definitely increased since the redesign.
You know when it gets cooler and you can start wearing jackets, so you put on your jacket for the first time since last year and Woohoo! In the pocket is a dollar! Or if you're really rich, $5!
That's how I felt when Chuck took off the videos from the camera recently: all these sweet videos I forgot were there. So here are a couple of fun ones.
Rhett started breakdancing this week. Pretty awesome.
My nephew kills a pinata at the family reunion.
And I just like the way he says "movie" and "buffalo."
I recently read a book in which the author said that life was made up of "bursts." These bursts were either big ones (like getting married or turning 16) or little ones (like finding a dollar in your pants). I have been thinking about these bursts ever since. I love the idea of them because I see my life frequently being buoyed by these mini-bursts. Like the day we had an earthquake. That was totally awesome. And this past Saturday I got to eat my all-time favorite french toast at Eastern Market. Yesterday was a double mini-burst day: I got to eat dinner with good friends and watch an awesome storm roll through my area. The temperature went from 97 to 72 in 10 minutes. The winds knocked down trees (one of them landed on a hood of a moving car--eek!). I love to see nature in action like that. And today, my mini-burst was free parking at the metro because it was still without power due to the storm.
Let's say that it's been ridiculously hot and humid where you live. And let's say this heat and humidity have been constant since late May. Let's also say that last Saturday, the air conditioning in your house went out, making you feel even hotter and you've never quite recovered. Then let's say that you just got back from mowing the lawn in the hot hot grossness and your shower didn't take. Now let's say that because your regular pajama pants were in the dirty clothes, you were left with wearing sweat pants (not to worry, these are good sweat pants--no elastic around the ankles, I promise). Finally, let's say that your totally awesome crafty wife offered to make you NEW pajama pants that night; as in, you'd be free of the hot hot sweat pants and transformed into a light, cool creature of the night. The very small catch being that these new pajamas would be made of this fabric. What would you do? (Oh yeah, and hypothetically speaking, let's just say you're a male.)
At least Rhett let me make him into a ghost with it.
Last week Rhett's crib finally was finally included in the mass of recalled cribs. I called the company and was told that the drop-side-fixing part could be expected sometime in August. AUGUST. Until then, we're not supposed to be using the crib for fear of death (his, not ours). So while this didn't really freak me out, I thought it was a great impetus to get Rhett into a toddler bed.
I saw this tutorial from Design Mom a year ago and knew it was what I wanted. One of our resolutions this year was to create more traditions and I wanted one of those traditions to be to "build something together." These beds looked easy enough, even for us novice power tool users.
We bought the wood supplies on Thursday and put the frame together that night. Don't you love that I'm working in a skirt? That's how easy this project was: I could have done it in heels (if I owned heels, that is). Friday afternoon we bought the fabric, and Friday evening Chuck did the upholstery whilst I made the decorative pillow. Saturday morning we loaded the bed into his room.
Of course we were nervous about how Rhett would do. Because this had only come up that week, we hadn't really been prepping him about his new "little guy" bed. However, the only hang-up we had at naptime was that he desperately wanted to sleep with the decorative pillow and was crying when I told him no. I relented; sadly, though, because our A/C broke that day and Rhett demands a blanket so the pillow was drenched in sweat upon his waking. But once that pillow was his, he was back to his usual, "Go away Mom. Go away Dad." We knew he'd be fine; though we did wonder when he'd first fall out of it.
At nighttime I was able to convince him that the decorative pillow needed to go to sleep in the other room and he's been dutifully putting that pillow to sleep ever since. It's been another easy transition for this kid! (Too bad the transition to the new nursery room on Sunday wasn't this easy.) He seems to really love the bed and can easily get in and out of it. He even wanted to spend time in his room on Saturday and sit on the bed. Oh, I love this boy!
A couple of notes about making the bed. First, it cost us nearly $60 for everything. The fabric was more than Gabrielle's estimate (well, that and I made the additional pillow); and because we made the bed to fit a standard crib mattress, our wood was also more expensive. However, $60 is still a great deal. Second, it really was ridiculously easy. The only tools we needed were a drill and a saw, and the latter was only because we miscalculated on something and didn't use the guys at Home Depot. If you decide to do this and want the dimensions for a standard crib, let me know and I'll get them to you.
