Happy Mother's Day!

So I was pretty certain that Todd didn't get me a present, but Chase totally outed him last night at my parents' house.  Mom gave me a present, but I wasn't allowed to open until today.  I woke up this morning to my favorite breakfast- cherry pie waffles (which are Belgian waffles with cherry pie topping on top.) Then, Todd brought the older boys in to give me my presents.  He secretly went to my favorite store, Brighton, and picked up a matching pair of earrings, necklace, and bracelet.  It's not really my style, and he's told me it's OK to for me to exchange them for something else that I like.  Then, I opened my Mom's present- a set of jumper cables.  The story behind them is my car died a few weeks ago after a knitting class, and I had to call my parents to come help me out, because Todd was home with the boys.  I told her I didn't have a set of them for my car, so now I have some! Yeah, Mom!

We went to church, I was called as the Nursery Leader. Yep, that's now a running total of 3, count them, 3 callings that I hold in the ward.  I teach every 2nd Sunday in Relief Society, I am the Personal Progress advisor for the Young Women, and now Nursery Leader.  And as far as I know, I'm not getting released from the other callings anytime soon.  I taught my lesson, got set apart for my calling, then came home.  Todd fed us lunch, put the twins down for a nap, and let me basically hang out for the day.  We had dinner, got the kids to bed, and now we're just hanging out watching TV.

 And thus ends my week long blog challenge.  I've really enjoyed it, it's been fun.  I can't say that I'll be blogging on here every single day, but I will surely try to get on here more often and update my blog.  Hopefully every time I make something, I'll post it on here.  And I'm also hoping that I won't wait for months to go by before posting some fun pics of the kids on here.  We have a big trip coming up this summer, and I really can't wait to post about it! Catch ya on the flip side, friends!

Saturday, a.k.a. pre-Mother's Day...

It started off as a promising day, but somewhere I got into a funk of an attitude.  Todd took Chase to his baseball game, and after doing the dishes and laundry, we ate lunch and got Gunnar ready for his game.  He said his legs hurt too bad for him to run the bases, and after some near death threats from my husband, Gunnar parked it on the couch and wasn't allowed to get up and run around.  He missed his game because of his stupid shots! Whatever... after a little bickering with the hubby, I decided to take a nap.  It didn't last long, because as soon as I laid down, Todd came in and decided to take a bath with the whirlpool jets on, and it was much louder than I was hoping it would be. Then, as I was drifting off, the twins woke up from their nap. Nap fail- awesome.  Then, I asked Todd to make baked beans while I took a shower, and he did, but to my dismay, he neglected to do a few things that I usually do in the recipe, and I didn't think they would taste very good.  So, we loaded up the kids and headed over to my parents' house for dinner with my siblings and their family.  It was a fun night with some good grub, and presents for my Mom and Dad (celebrating Dad's birthday, and Mother's Day.)  So we came home, got all the kids bathed and in bed.  I finally prepared my lesson for church tomorrow, (it's going to be a good one!) and now I'm on here to give my day 6 post.  I know, kinda short, but hopefully tomorrow will be a little better.  I'm actually enjoying posting everyday...maybe I'll keep this up! Naw...better not get too hopeful. ;o)

Friday night blues

I'm sitting here watching all of our DVR'd shows we didn't get to watch this week, and Todd's about to pop some popcorn.  Today was a busy day, or at least just another day.  I hung out at home with the twins today, did laundry and dishes, and prepared myself for taking Gunnar to the doctor.  I got a note from the nurse at school saying he wasn't up to date on his immunizations, so I made an appointment and took him in.  His vision is 20/20, perfect hearing, Dr. Gordon said he looks great on his height and weight, and he's an overall good looking kid. So after all of the preliminary stuff, we had to get down to business. The nurse came in with 3 shots, and he started to freak out.  I had to hold down his arms and upper body, while the nurse laid across his legs and stuck him.  Ya know that kid who screams bloody murder, and you're in the next room just shaking your head? Yeah, that was my kid today.  He got some candy, a sticker, and a few kisses from Mommy, and he limped out of the office.  I was fortunate enough to have my Dad babysit the twins for me so I could take Gunnar to the doctor's office, and they were happy to see us when we got home.  We ordered dinner in, and then took the kids for ice cream at Braums.  Everyone was in bed and asleep by 9:20- a little late, but still not bad.  Tomorrow we have 2 baseball games and a family Mother's Day dinner, and I still have that lesson to prepare for Relief Society.  Let's get this Mother's Day weekend started!

p.s. this may be a short post, but I vowed to post and I'm sticking to it!

Day 4 of my post challenge- FAIL!

I know, I know, I'm posting this on Friday, and not Thursday.  I missed Day 4 of my challenge to blog everyday this week! I do have a good reason, though.  Every night I read a book to Gunnar, and stay with him until he falls asleep. Well, last night, I was so exhausted, I fell asleep with him around 9 pm! Well, I did want to post about the new project I made, so here it is, and I'll post again tonight as well...ya know, to make up for not posting last night...

So, I had previously mentioned that I went to my friend Heather's house earlier in the week.  This is what I got- a plank of wood, and some vinyl letters.  I sanded down the wood, and prepped it for painting.

Like the red?

I decided to distress the edges of the board, and sanded the board again to give it an antique look.

another view of the edges...

Here is the vinyl lettering.  I chose this phrase because my Mom used to sing this song to me as a little girl.  Heather has a vinyl cutting machine (a Cricket Cutter I think?) and she was so awesome to cut this out for me.  I pulled all of the "negative" pieces off, and figured out how I wanted to place it on the board.

Heather explained that using Glad Press 'n Seal wrap was perfect for transferring the whole phrase at one time.  I placed the wrap on the phrase, then used my Pampered Chef scrapper to adhere the letters to the Press 'n Seal.

Then, after I  found my placement on the board, I used the scrapper to adhere the letters to the board, and pulled the Press 'n Seal away from the lettering.

Pretty great, huh? It was a bit of a process, but it was a lot better than placing the letters individually!

Finished with the letters!

Added a few coats of glossy modge podge for some shine, and...



VOILA! The finished product! And yes, my Mom has already seen it.  She came over to watch the twins for a bit last night, and I didn't have time to get it put away before she arrived.  I told her I'd add some hardware for her to hang it, and then she I would give it to her.

So that's it, TADA! Now you know why I've been so busy this week, aside from the 18 item "To Do" list I started my Monday with, the baseball games, the incoming 3rd graders meeting, birthday party, and usual list of wife/Mom duties I've had to do this week.  And, I still have to get a lesson ready for church this Sunday ( I am one of the teachers for the adult women's group, known as Relief Society...yeah, I know, I am teaching on Mother's Day, but I teach on most major holidays that fall on a Sunday!) That's all for now, I'll be posting later tonight, hopefully, if I don't fall asleep with Gunnar again!

Crafty mama!

Alright, I've been talking about knitting and making a menu board, FINALLY, here are some pics!

First, the menu board-

So Todd went to an activity and built this lovely menu board for me, nice, huh?

He put a few coats of stain on it, and put a few layers of magnetic paint.

And I didn't like the stain, so I painted it red, and added a modge podge gloss finish to it.



Todd went back and painted a couple layers of dry erase paint, he made a bit of a mess, so I cleaned it up with several good passes of sand paper,  more paint, and another coat of modge podge.



The finished product on the wall!

And now for my knitting... I made a scarf, and I was so pleased with it that I made all the kids pose with it on.  And there's a picture of what I'm currently working on in here as well.

Mason liked me putting the scarf on him, but was not willing to smile.

Parker wasn't really into smiling with this on...I was bothering him...

Sweet Gunnar...he really wanted me to give this to him, and he's already asked for the new scarf. 

Chase, posing like a boss!

This is the current knitting project- another scarf.  This was a continental cast on, with K1 row and P1 row. (that's "knit talk" for knit 1 row, purl 1 row!)

So this is my post for today, lots of pictures, not a whole lot of words.  I'm just happy that I've been able to keep up with this and post! I'm hoping tomorrow that I'll be able to post some pictures of the project I'm currently working on, and hopefully it will be complete tomorrow!

Day 2 of my challenge...

I promised myself I would try to post every day this week, and go back and do some updates, but I'm so dog tired, so I'll just tell you what's been going on around here this week.  Sunday night I made a list of 18 items that I needed to get done this week, and as of right now, all but 3 are complete.  I think I can accomplish the other 3 before the end of this week, but usually when I make a list I want to complete the entire thing in one day.  I don't like to have things on my mind...or my list, whatever the case may be.  So today, I got the big boys off to school, and I noticed I was so tired.  I dropped the twins off with my Dad, who has been my resident babysitter for the last several months, and I headed over to my friend Heather's house.  She's been kind enough to help me create something for my Mom, so once I get that project finished, I'll post it on here.

Speaking of projects, one of my projects that I've been working on has been a menu board.  Todd went to an Elder's Quorem activity at Heather's house (her husband is very into wood working) and decided to make me something I found on Pinterest.  I've wanted a menu board for some time, so he made the board, and we decided to make it a magnetic dry erase board. After several coats of magnetic paint, stain, red paint to cover the stain, dry erase paint, sanding to get rid of the dry erase paint on the red paint, another coat of red paint, and a few coats of glossy modge podge, my board is complete.  I will hang it up tomorrow, and start on the new project I have in the works.

Also, I took a knitting class AND I LOVED IT! I've wanted to learn to knit or crochet for a while now, and as part of my New Years Resolution, I decided I was going to take some classes and learn to knit and sew.  I thoroughly enjoyed learning to knit- it was only 4 classes, but in the 4 weeks of class (one 2 hour class a week) I knit a scarf, and started on another one.  I made all of the boys take pictures with my product, and I am really proud of it.  The boys have been quite fascinated with my knitting, and they constantly ask me how my progress is going.  The older boys have each requested a matching hat and scarf, and Gunnar has asked me to knit a blanket for his baby doll, Baby Knucklehead. 

So hopefully tomorrow I'll post pictures of the menu board and my scarf, and maybe something else.  I'll keep you posted!

p.s. I forgot to mention yesterday that the twins know the words "stuck", "mine", and "back"

My Twinny Twin Twins!

Dad's helping them learn how to drive their new Jeep

Riding in the Jeep

Cheesy grin from Parker

Their birthday cake

Mason about to eat his birthday dinner

So, ok, I haven't posted in a few months, and that was one of my goals for the New Year.  I figure I should do a few "catch up" posts to get everyone caught up.  First, we'll start with February and the twins' birthday, and I'm making a goal to try and post once a day to get caught up with everything, let's cross our fingers and see if I can make it happen!

 

Yes, the babies (I shouldn't really call them that anymore!) turned 2 on February 25th.  We had their party at my parent's house, and they got the surprise of their lives! Nana and Pa got them a Power Wheels Jeep! They rode around in that for a while, then we made them come in for dinner, cake, ice cream, and presents.  I just can't believe my little men are so big! Let me update you on what they're up to these days...

 

Parker- He is a total goofball.  He does the funniest things, and really makes me smile.  If he feels like he's falling, or even pretends to fall, he says "whoa, whoa whoa" in a funny voice. Parker loves to run through the house with his cars, and he has become very interested in throwing and catching a ball. He still uses a binky (or did until he chewed through his very last one not long after his birthday!), which has left him a little behind on his language skills.  He can climb like a monkey, and is pretty good at tackling his brothers, or me.  He is a super great eater, and is usually the first to fall asleep at naps and bedtime.  He loves to run and play with Mason, and he's usually on the receiving end of Mason's teeth when they get into a disagreement. He likes to watch "Scooby Doo," and when there's a ghost, he says "Oh, no!" And he giggles when Scooby does funny things.  He and Mason also love to watch Disney Jr. in the mornings, with a preference for "Mickey Mouse Clubhouse." He's an absolute "Mama's boy," and showers me with hugs and kisses every day!

 

Mason- He is my thinker.  He has recently started putting his finger to his lip and saying "Hmmm..." Before that, he would put his hands on his hips and walk around that way.  Cracks me up! He is very interested in puzzles, he runs through the house with Parker pushing cars, and he screams at the tops of his lungs in such a high pitch that it makes your ears ring.  He can say more words than Parker can, and he's started putting a few words together as well.  His words are as follows- stop, go, yes, no, on, off, Mom, Dad, ow, dog, cat, home, hat, ball, up, roll (short for cinnamon roll), juice, chip, apple, pretz (for pretzel), snack, and Buck (short for Buckley, our dog.) Parker can say all of these words as well, but Mason said them first, and he speaks more clearly than Parker does.  He usually comes downstairs first in the morning, and finds me and gives me a great big hug.  He holds my face in his hands when he wants to get a point across, and threads his fingers in my hair when he wants to give me a kiss.  Super sweetheart of a kid!

 

My little guys are an absolute joy to stay home with, and every single day is a new adventure with us.  They're in nursery at church, and they are started to learn songs.  It's really fun to watch them do the motions for songs like "Twinkle, Twinkle little star," or "Itsy Bitsy Spider."  They also learned Ring Around the Rosie, and thoroughly enjoy popping bubbles.  We do get out and do fun things, like going to Sam's Club with my best friend, Rebecca Hunt, and her two little girls.  We also have the occasional lunch date with Todd, and they love to spend time with their Nana and Pa whenever they can.  I'm sure I'm forgetting a ton of great and wonderful things about them, but I'm sure I'll remember more and post them! Happy Birthday to my big boys! I'm so lucky to be a mother of such wonderful twins!