How 'Bout Them Apples

Here's my mantle, all decked out for autumn. At first it was just the plants and the pumpkins. Then last night I decided it needed something more.


I got this canvas at the thrift store for a dollar, it already had the green rectangle and dark red border. I added the apples and leaves for a slightly abstract painting. I know I'm not much of an interior decorator, nor am I an experienced painter, but I really like how the painting, and the whole setup, turned out.

Emergency Preparedness Fair

Yesterday was our Stake Emergency Preparedness Fair. There were lots of booths set up, everything from the police department and railway safety to food storage and how to check your gas meter in case of a natural disaster. Lots of cool stuff. But for the kids, the most popular area by far was the emergency vehicles. Zaylee and Thomas, along with all the other kids, enjoyed a full hands-on tour of a fire truck and an ambulance. Zaylee and Thomas like watching the TV show "Rescue Heroes," and Zaylee was so impressed and awestruck when I told her that she was meeting real life rescue heroes, the fire fighters and EMTs and police officers.

Partway through the fair, the super ultra main attraction arrived - an AirMed helicopter that landed right in the parking lot. Zaylee and I got real close to where it landed, and it was so awesome to feel the wind kicked up by the rotors, and see how excited Zaylee was as it hovered and slowly landed. The kids got to sit in the helicopter and see all the equipment, which was a real highlight for them.



It was a fun day out for our family. I learned some stuff about emergency prep, the kids learned a lot about fire trucks and ambulances and helicopters, and everyone had a good time.

Ouch!

Yesterday morning when I got up, my back was inexplicably hurting. I had a big pain in my lower back when I would pick something up, sit down, stand up, shift position, or pretty much anything. It was so frustrating, because I couldn't do anything! I wanted to do some decluttering in our bedroom, but bending down to pick stuff up was painful. I had to have Jeff change all the diapers (thank goodness his week off started yesterday), because just kneeling on the floor made my back hurt.

This morning when I woke up the pain was gone. I was so excited at the thought of not hurting all day. But after getting Audrey out of her crib and changing her diaper, my back started hurting again. Now, an hour later, it's as bad as it was yesterday. I'm just so frustrated. I really wanted to get stuff done today. There's decluttering to be done, toys and clothes to be put away, kids to be played with, dishes to be washed and put away. And I can't do any of it because my back is hurting so bad!

I guess I'll have to sit around knitting all day like I did yesterday. Nothing wrong with knitting, and I'm glad for the chance to practice. But when I'm only doing it because I can't do anything else, it loses a bit of its charm.

Random updatey type stuff

Cute conversation I had with Zaylee the other day:
Me - "Hey Zaylee, why is Thomas crying? Did he hurt himself, or is he just sad?"
Zaylee - "He's just sad."
Me - "Why is he sad?"
Zaylee - "Because he hurt himself."
(Turns out he was fine, just upset with something)

Audrey has started pulling herself up to standing, and occasionally will cruise along the furniture a little bit. We lowered her crib mattress so she couldn't climb out. She is learning how to use a spoon, though I still do most of the work. I'll get the food onto the spoon, and she'll grab it and guide it toward her mouth. She has a vivacious smile and a contagious laugh. Zaylee and Thomas like playing peek-a-boo with her to make her giggle.

Thomas is doing well in preschool, and talking a lot more at home. I love that I'm able to understand him more and more, and that his vocabulary is increasing so quickly. It's nice to be able to have better communication with him.

Zaylee and I went to a Mother/Daughter primary activity yesterday. It was a lot of fun. We had breakfast burritos and fruit, painted our nails, made pretty bead bracelets, and took pictures with fancy hats and feather boas. Such a fun activity, and it was nice to be able to have that special time with just Zaylee.

We're nearing the end of Jeff's work week. Around this time, we're all getting a little tired out and totally ready for his week off. I'm looking forward to hopefully finishing Thomas' bed this week, and working on a variety of projects. Zaylee's excited to get to the library and check out more books with her very own library card. I made her a little wallet to hold her card, which she just loves. I'll have to find the camera and take pictures of it.

And now, it's about time for me to get to bed. Yawn...

Audrey Plays Peek-A-Boo

Audrey enjoys playing peek-a-boo. I enjoy it too, she has the cutest giggle! This time she was especially cute, ducking her head onto her tray and popping back up. The fact that some of her food gets stuck on her face in the process is just an entertaining bonus. :-)

Five Years Old

Zaylee turned five years old today.




Look at that smile! She has such a fun and cheerful personality.



And she can sometimes be a little wild and in-your-face. :-)


To celebrate turning five, Jeff took Zaylee to the library and helped her get her very own library card, which made her feel very grown up! She got to check out her own books and everything.

We gave Zaylee the royal treatment of being able to choose what to eat today. She chose pancakes for breakfast and pizza for dinner. She has good taste. :-)

I made her birthday cake to look like a jeweled crown. Yellow decorator sugar, ice cream cones, and Jolly Ranchers made for a sparkly cake that Zaylee just loved. The kids helped me to decorate - Zaylee by choosing the colors for the jewels, and Thomas by making sure that the frosting still tasted good every few seconds. The cake didn't turn out quite like I was planning, but it was fun, tasty, and we all liked it.


We gave Zaylee two great gifts - a watercolor paint set, and a pillow buddy (pillow that folds up into a stuffed animal).






I made this pillow buddy last night, and it took so much longer than I expected it to! I thought it would be maybe an hour or two, but no! I was up until nearly 2:00 in the morning, having started making it around 8:30, after putting the kids to bed.




I used this two-part tutorial (part 1, part 2), using a faux mink blanket I got at a thrift store. I have to say, I LOOOOOVE the way it turned out! And Zaylee was really excited about it. So excited she wouldn't stand still long enough for a decent picture. But who needs a "good" picture when you can capture joy like this? :-)


She has named her pillow buddy Polly, and is snuggled in bed with it right now.

All in all, a great day for everyone.

Time to Make the Bed

Image taken from Ana-White.com (new home of Knock-Off Wood)

This is the bed that we're making for Thomas. We started on it today, cutting out the pieces for the headboard and footboard. I learned that it's a lot of fun to use a table saw! Next step is to assemble the pieces we just cut, then build the frame, then put it all together to make a bed. I'm so excited that we've finally started making the bed.