Up and Down

For some reason, blogging just isn't my thing right now. Terrible, huh? I mean, I have hundreds of pictures that I'd like to have posted, just so I can enjoy looking at them and remembering a lot of fun things we've been doing around here lately.

But --- [big, long, involuntary sigh]. It just isn't happening.

Sorry.

Today is a down day for me. Probably a day I'd be better off steering clear of the blog, or the computer in general. Especially when I've been offline for ages. Yesterday was a down day too. And Saturday was an "on-the-way-down" day, if that makes sense to anyone?

But see, before the "down" time, I was having an incredible surge of "up-ness." For several days in a row, I was energetic, productive, and pretty much on top of things around here. (Except for blogging, of course.) I felt really good, I was sleeping good, and just getting so much done.

The short list of things I got done while I was "up":

-- cleaned out the fridge

-- did a major grocery shopping trip

-- cleaned out the laundry room (a major accomplishment, as it hasn't been cleaned for about a year -- the DEEP kind of clean-out)

-- swept and sprayed down the back porch for cobwebs

-- took the kids to the library, paid our fine for the book we lost last December, and renewed our card so we can start borrowing again.

-- picnic lunch at the park. TWICE in a row!

-- cleaned out all FOUR of our kids' toy boxes,

-- bought and planted REAL flowers in our pots in front of the house (so the silk flowers can stay in storage until some other unproductive time, I hope!)

-- got up and went walking with a friend three different times at 6:30 a.m.

-- read multiple books, multiple times on multiple days with my kids, even helping Samantha to sound out the letters on some of them!

-- visited our aging neighbor (something I've said I need to do every day for the last five months or so)

-- did a real princess hair-do on Samantha.

-- cleaned out the tupperware cupboard and the canning jars/toaster cupboard.

Whew! Can you believe I felt so accomplished as I climbed into bed several nights in a row?! -- with a smile on my face!!?

Well, right now, on my not-so-uppity day, just writing the list is making me tired. I guess the ups and downs are necessary -- one helps me appreciate the other, right?

But then, my "wondering" of the day is the same thing I've wondered countless times before, on countless down days in my past: why don't I just go ahead and CHOOSE to be "up," instead of feeling all grumpy and irritable and sludgy-- yes, sludgy describes it pretty well. See, just last night I was reading through an old journal, one that I wrote way back in college, more than a decade ago. Can you believe, I was struggling with the very same "wondering!??" I stated it a bit differently there, eventually vowing to do better at just being happy all the time whether I felt like it or not.

But as I read through more journal pages, I could see my resolve didn't really change my mood or my frustrations at the time. And I pretty much just had to weather the down days and try to find things to be grateful for, keeping me feeling somewhat positive, despite the haze. Not much has changed in all these years, I guess! It just seems to be a cycle I go through... a challenge I still haven't learned how to deal with properly. Hmm...

I guess life continues through the down days, too, right? And yes, I'm still accomplishing things, though they don't seem quite so fulfilling today:

-- showered and dressed and didn't forget to put on my wedding rings.

-- made our bed, and Samantha's too.

-- washed and dried a load of laundry, including Spencer's indispensable blanket.

-- held and comforted (and threatened to spank) a screaming, inconsolable Spencer who would NOT be placated, the ENTIRE time his blanket was in the wash. (actually Brian helped with this for awhile until he had to leave)

-- watered the tomatoes that are sitting on the counter, still waiting to be planted.

-- indulged the kids with chocolate milk and Doritos as part of their lunch.

Well, that's my feel-good list for today. And maybe tomorrow I'll get back on top of my game! Then, maybe, just MAYBE, I'll blog for REAL!

:)

Samantha was right!

Well, for those of you who have been patiently waiting for our next baby news, here it is...

We're having a GIRL! Yay!

I've been waiting to post the news so I could scan the cute little pics we have of her. But... that's taken way too long now. So, I'm just sharing without pictures, and will maybe add them later (or snag some off the internet because don't they all look a lot alike from the inside-out angle? ha!)

Anyway, we had our 20-week scan last week, and Brian relented and said we could go ahead and find out what kind of baby we were having. (He's very into the "surprise" thing -- for those who don't remember, Samantha was a surprise, at Brian's insistence. I told him we can have another surprise with the NEXT baby. one at a time, please.) We took Samantha with us, because I thought she'd be interested since she asked me almost every day whether it's a boy or girl. She was really cute about it, although, after the first 2 mins, I think she might have been more interested in the Cinderella book she found under her chair.

When the first shot of the baby's profile came up on the screen, Sam said, "Oh! I KNEW it was a girl!!" We smiled and told her it's pretty hard to tell whether it's a boy or girl, just by looking at it's face. She studied the image some more and said, "No. I'm sure it's a girl. Her face does not look at ALL like a boy." We had to laugh. And we laughed even more when Brian said to her, "Well, I guess it's not a puppy after all." And she replied, "That's silly Daddy!! Are you teasing? Because puppies only come from mama dogs, not from people mamas." (She's so smart, no?!)

Later, when we actually saw the "girl parts," Samantha got a better clue of how this all works. She told us, "well, that is for SURE is a girl, because there aren't any of those BOY parts like Spencer has!" Looks like she was right, smarty pants. Maybe she has a future as an ultrasound technician. Just think -- if she can actually tell just from the profile shot... I see big money here, folks! ha!

We also brought Spence, just because I was lazy about getting a sitter. Yeah... he didn't care one bit. But he was hoppin' mad when I accidentally bumped his ear into the doctor's counter while giving him a "horsey ride" on my knee. Oops. It actually put a slice right through the top of his ear, poor thing. I think he'll opt to stay home from future ultrasound/dr visits!

Well, we're really excited to welcome number three, and especially excited to give Sammie and Spencer a sister! Let the name discussions begin. Samantha prefers Abigail, Gabriella, or Candice. And she says "I'm not really crazy with Emma (one of her dad's top picks)" -- meaning, she doesn't like it; she's heard Brian say "I'm not crazy about [insert favorite name of mine]" so many times, I guess she figures that's the polite way to say NO, THANKS!

I have more updates to write (more Hawaii, Sam's ballet recital, etc.) Will have to promise to be back sooner, I guess!! Bye for now.

Before I move on....

I have PROMISED myself that I would include Spencer's birthday on this blog! I know, it's three months old now, but still... our darling boy is TWO, and this MUST be blogumented!

So, here are fun pictures of his birthday -- and some others from this spring as well, followed by a few things I like about my two-year-old Spencer Boy.

We had another combined party for Spencer and his cousin, Seth, who turned 5. And, we had another pinata, which was a hit -- AGAIN!! Even Spencer loved bashing at it, once he caught on to what they were doing.

The spoils...

Look at that studious face, as he opened his first present...

Surrounded by his loot... train, bowling set, pajamas, cars and trucks, candy ring pops, and peeps. Lucky boy!

I love this picture of both grandpas, blowing their party horns! Ha!!

The cute boy, smiling for the camera -- something he rarely does...

Here (below) he's looking up at a ball vacuum, in the SLC children's museum. He LOVES balls, and he LOOOOOVED that ball vacuum. We moved on several times, only to find Spencer had made his way back to the balls. I just thought it was a cute pic...

And now, some bits I like to remember about our boy:

• Spencer is my favorite cuddle bug. He loves to climb on my lap and sit with me, reading a book or just being still together -- as long as he has his blanket and finger to suck.
• He loves trucks, trains, buses -- and sometimes cars, too. When we go anywhere, we get a running commentary from Spencer about the trucks and buses that pass us: "Yellow bus!" "White truck!" "Blue truck!" "BIG BIG truck (semi)" ... we love it.
• He also loves to jump and dance. He's learned some great moves from Samantha's ballet practices (she tends to "practice" several times a day). He even has his own version of an "arabesque" -- where he goes leaping across the room at full speed yelling "Ahh-Besk!!" (arabesque).
• When we're eating dinner, Spencer LOVES salad, mainly for the salad dressing. Every time we start to pour the dressing, as it pours out he excitedly says, "there it goes!" (sounds more like air-go). We love to hear him say it, so he gets lots of dressing. ha!
• He's not quite so musical as Samantha has been, but Spencer does know and love one song -- Do You Know the Muffin Man? He spontaneously sings "muffin man, muffin man, muffin man" all day long, especially when we're in the grocery store, for some reason? He first sings it in a little innocent voice, then he squints his eyes in a silly face and starts singing again, in a very loud, growly voice -- "MUFFIN MAN!!" It's really quirky and quite comical. Maybe one of these days, I'll bring my camera to the store and see if I can get a video? :)
• Spencer is now in his own "big boy bed" -- Sam's old toddler bed. He's so happy about it, and calls it his "nice bed." When he's done napping, he now lets us know he's up by going to the door (which he still can't open), and laying next to the springy door stop, "dooiiinngging it" loudly, until someone comes to open the door for him. He thinks this is a very clever move -- it works, but only when he's been sleeping for awhile, which he likes to test from time to time.
• Speaking of naps and sleep, he's still our AMAZING sleeper -- averaging 15 hours a day. I know, that's a LOT of sleep. But he really seems to function best with 12 hrs at night and a 3 hour nap in the afternoon. I encourage this behavior, of course!
• Spencer loves to be tickled, and will raise up his shirt to show us his huge belly and ask politely, "tickle??" He also loves to have Daddy "eat toes." He raises up his feet, one at a time, for Brian to pretend he's eating Spencer's toes.
• Spencer politely says, "Bless you, Mama," every time I sneeze. (And since I have this weird 'pregnancy sneeze' -- three in a row at least three times a day -- he gets to say it quite often.) He also blesses Sammie, when she sneezes or coughs. And she gets irritated if it was just a cough because "you're not supposed to bless people for coughing, just sneezing!!" she tells him. Also, when he sneezes, he politely blesses himself with, "Bless you, Boy!"
• He is our fridge and pantry bandit. If the pantry is left open, he will rummage through to find any kind of snack he can sneak before we catch him. He can't open the fridge, but if it's open, he'll sit himself down in the door so we can't close it. Then he'll start looking for things he can ask for -- "cottage cheese?" "juice?" "yogurt?" ... etc.
• At bed time, Spencer eagerly awaits his "kisses" from Daddy, Mama, and Sammie. He leans his head in toward whoever's turn it is to kiss him on the cheek. But he's yet to learn that he can also give kisses. Oh well.

I'm sure I have more I would like to write about Spencer. He is such a sweet little boy, most of the time. He can melt on the floor in a real fit, just like any two-year-old. But usually he's just a pleasant, easy boy, and we love watching him grow.

Just a sneak peek...

Having such a lovely time, just thought I'd put up a few picts of our trip...

Yep, we're LOVING our little Hawaiian vacation (and I just backspaced 5-6 times, trying to figure out how to spell Hawaiian.) We have spotty internet access, so it's been especially nice to have a bit of a technology break as well. Just thought I'd check in and add a few pics, since it's been soooo long since I've blogged.

In the meantime, we've been missing our baby-kids sooo much! How is it that we were soooo ready for a break, and now we just keep talking about how cute and sweet and wonderful they are? Here are a few of the pics that were left on our camera...

Aren't they cute?! Will have to write more later. Too much fun!!

Still not blogging

I keep meaning to write, but then I don't. Sorry. The worst is that I have started posting about Spencer's birthday probably five times now. FIVE. I have lots of pictures, fun things to say, a little bit about "why we love our two-year-old," etc. Well, that has been the "next post" on my list since.... February?!??

So, I just got stuck and no blogging happens. I have to remind myself that the point of my blog (and the rest of you may have other points to your blogs, of course) is just to send a shout and and let people know what's going on with our little life here. I'm not out to capture every waking detail of life in the Bishop household. I'm not trying to keep a journal here (believe it or not, I actually DO have one of those, and have already recorded Spencer's birthday in there, pat-on-my-back.) I just like the feeling of "staying connected" with people, sharing some interesting tidbits, ya know?

Well, so, no apologies about no pictures (again). This time I'm just throwing out some of those "tidbits" that y'all may or may not find interesting...

-- Spencer DID have a birthday and IS such a sweet two-year-old boy! He's big, big, big... 97th percentile on the height chart. And a big head, too, like his daddy, hee hee. He has the sweetest little voice, the biggest blue eyes, and the loooongggest lashes ever. (I put mascara on him one day when I caught him rifling through my make-up bag. Whoah!! If he were a girl...)

-- Samantha has been learning about dinosaurs and planets at school lately. She's also become addicted to her afternoon "movie time" while Mom and Spence nap. I'm sad about that, because she used to be our girl who really didn't care whether the tv was off or on. But just last week, I was watching her color and I said something about how nicely she colors. Her response: "Yeah, but coloring is not my favorite thing. My VERY favorite thing is watching tv." Ahh... it was inevitable, wasn't it? It's like when a kid learns the name of McDonald's. sigh.

-- I planted fake flowers in the pots in front of our house. hee hee. And they look GREAT!!! I just kept wishing and waiting for the moment when I was going to feel good enough to plant all those bulbs, and buy some packs of pansies, etc. Then, I was at Joann's Fabric, and I saw these darling little pink heatherish looking plants, 40% off. Well, for my $10 and three minutes that it took to arrange them in the dirt in the pots, we now have adorable silk heather in our front flower pots... and I'm even getting compliments on them, people asking what kind they are, and so on. Best part is, I don't have to remember to water them (which, my house plants could tell you, is a GOOD thing.)

-- I tried spray painting a little night table for Samantha's room. And failed. You've probably all seen someone's blog or someone's creativity in their own home... people who take a perfect DI piece of furniture, put some spray paint on it and -- Voila! a new adorable creation takes shape, with that cute shabby chic look. Well, that's what I was envisioning. But I first held the can too close. Then it dripped everywhere so I took a paper towel and tried to wipe it off. So then it got paper towel bits in it. And... you get the picture? I guess those people with cool blogs about their remakes need post instructions for those of us less talented who want to give it a try! I'll sand it down and see if I can salvage it, for the $8 I paid at the thrift store, it's worth at least one more try, no??

-- My sis-in-law mopped my kitchen floor for me!! Anyone who has read more than a few posts recently knows how big a job it is for me to mop that floor, especially with the pukiness going on, eh? Well, my very sweet Dalana sensed my need and came to my rescue on a nauseating morning. And it looked soooo gorgeous and felt soooo good and clean under my feet. Sending a shout out to her for a VERY much appreciated gesture of kindness.

-- I cooked a ham for Easter. And it really was just delicious. We had everyone over from the Bishop side around here. Everyone brought yummy eats to share for our meal, and we had quite the feast! I mention the ham, because I think it's only the second ham I've ever cooked. Just not a ham cooker, I guess? But I was very proud of myself that it didn't get too dry or something.

-- We got a big-girl bed for Samantha, and moved Spencer into his own big-boy toddler bed. I'm ashamed to say, Sam was still in a tiny little toddler bed, up until last week. I know, I know! I was wondering why we didn't just get a twin from the beginning. Well, she survived, and is now sleeping happily in her new twin bed (pics coming in some future post, I hope). And the best part is how excited Spencer is to inherit the toddler bed! We thought we might have trouble getting him to stay in, but no way! He LOVES his new bed, naps in it just fine, and is very excited to go to sleep in it each night. Good thing, too, because he fell out of his crib twice last week, and ended up with a nose bleed... guess it was time for the change, huh?

-- Samantha started a little ballet class. She's been begging for months, and I told her we'd do it after Christmas (she had to be at least 4 for this one). Then, I got pregnant, and couldn't face the idea of taking her each week (I know, I'm pathetic during those first months. Pathetic!) So, we waited till I started turning my corner. And now... she is in HEAVEN!! She practices her leaps and arabesques all day long. It's adorable. She even has a little recital coming up in May, with a costume and everything. This should be good entertainment!

-- Brian is... keeping busy. At this exact moment, he's at Wal-mart, picking out a present for his dad's birthday tomorrow. We're all having a big birthday dinner at his parents' house tomorrow, so a gift would be in order, eh? How's that for a "tidbit" you didn't know?

I'm signing out for tonight. Goodnight, blogging world. I hope I'll have more good stuff next time around. And more pics!

"magic water"

Yesterday morning, Samantha and I had this conversation...

Samantha, sitting on the stairs wrapped up in a towel, said: Last night, there got to be a little tiny bit of water in my panties. So, I had to get this towel from the bathroom and sleep on it the rest of the night.

Me: Water in your panties?

Samantha: Just a little tiny bit.

Me: How do you think you got water in your panties?

Samantha: I think it was magic water that just came from the bathroom sink and magically landed in my panties and on my bed.

Me, trying not to laugh: Um, actually, Sam, I think maybe you wet the bed a little bit last night.

Samantha, adamantly: No Mom. It was magic water. From the bathroom. I KNOW it was.

Well, since she hasn't wet the bed in about a year, we let it slide. And who knows... maybe it really WAS magic water?!

Daydreaming

I keep thinking I need to write a better update, but then when I sit down to write, I just kind of feel like whining and whimpering about the nausea and blah I'm going through. I'm SOOO sure no one really wants to hear that (especially me, because I've been hearing myself whine about it for the past month and a half). So, I just go back to NOT writing.

But not today. I'm using valuable nap time to tell you all about the things I THINK of doing, while I lay on my couch. It's actually quite fun to think so ambitiously, though not so fun to realize all my "thinking" accomplishes very little. But, in the past days and weeks, just look at all the stuff I've THOUGHT about doing:

-- I thought really hard several afternoons in a row, about cleaning off the tops of the dressers in our room. They lie littered with clean laundry (since the closet smell makes me sick), and books (that I've imagined myself reading), and things I don't want Spencer to get (like the spray bottle, my make-up, some bathroom cleaner, etc.) In my mind, I carefully sorted everything, and got a basket for clothes to keep them in the corner by our big chair. Then dusted, thouroughly. Wow. It looked so much better in my mind, and I even lit that lavendar blossom candle to lighten the smell in our bedroom. And the smell didn't even make me sick, with such clean dresser tops!

-- I also dusted the piano, every last inch of it... in my head, of course. I got that soft little micro-fiber cloth from the laundry room, and carefully cleaned all the keys, the legs, the back. Oh, it was going to look so good, I'm sure you can imagine.

-- I didn't go so far as to imagine mopping the kitchen floor, but I did dream of paying someone else to do it. And I imagined that sweet little paid housekeeper lady could read my mind, and knew how to clean it EXACTLY like I like, even moving out that corner plant, which only happens with a really thorough mopping.

-- I went outside and trimmed back all that yucky dead growth on our shrubs and flowers from last year. Or, at least, I planned to, several days in a row. I could see myself sitting in the front lawn, with my gardening gloves and levi jacket on, carefully shaping those two bushes that shoot out red leaves, once the dead ones are cleaned up. While I was at it, I planted the spring bulbs of lily of the valley, and the gladiolus bulbs, and even the roses my mom bought us a few weeks ago. Then, for good measure, I transplanted that house plant into the darling pot I bought (for real -- the pot is real) a few weeks ago.

-- I also dreamed I was so ambitious that I actually bought Samantha a new bed, that she desperately needs. And found the perfect bedding to match, so her room is transformed. While I was in that daydream, I decided I also found a perfect bookshelf to put in the corner of her room, for a perfect price, with free delivery. So, everything is so much more organized and easy to find in her room, of course!

-- Oh yes, I've also written several lengthy letters and emails in my head, to so many people I've been thinking of these past weeks. These letters usually come to me in the middle of a sleepless and nauseating night, so they're especially sappy and filled with gratitude. Who knows, one of them may be to you -- you can imagine it, if you like!

-- My day dreams have lately been a little more extravagant ... Brian and I got tickets to go on a cruise, like we've been thinking about for several months. (I wish, oh I wish!) And, magically, I didn't feel sick the ENTIRE time. Even better, my fast-expanding waisteline actually didn't look too bad in a new swim suit as we sat on the beach in the sun every day, drinking our banana smoothies and what-nots. (I couldn't dream too much about food, because alas, it ruins the mood every time.)

-- I also dreamed up some great European vacations -- revisiting that coastal highway in Spain near Bilbao that we loved, one of our first trips when we moved to London. Then on down to the Moorish ruins to bask in the sun and watch the olive orchards growing. Then back to Prague to watch the apple trees blossoming, and a stop in Switzerland that we always wanted to make but never did. And of course, I thought it was fitting to imagine the tab was on someone else, so we got to stay in the Four Seasons, everywhere we went, just like that one time in Istanbul so long ago.

Welp, folks. As you can see, I have been very busy these days! And one day, when I feel better again, I will maybe start fulfilling at least SOME of those day dreams -- better start small, maybe with the dressers?

Winter fun -- before it ends

I just wanted to put up some of the fun pictures of our snow outings over the past couple months. We've had such fun times, but I just haven't felt much like blogging. So, here's the short version, mainly in pictures...

McCall -- Winter Carnival

We got to go to the annual McCall Ice Carving contest and carnival again this year. It was great! We rented a condo near the lake and two of my brothers and kids joined us. Our view, from the condo balcony... gorgeous!

Inside, there were cute, cozy window seats everywhere, and such a nice set up! Three bedrooms, each with a king size bed. Perfect for our group.

Sammie climbed a big snow mountain when we were sledding the first afternoon. She was pretty proud of herself...

Spencer LOVED sledding, but wasn't so excited about climbing back UP the hill to go again.

going up....??

We got to see a GREAT fireworks display over the frozen lake. We were almost right under the display ... got a couple raw embers dropped on us, actually! yikes!

Samantha and cousins got their own front row seats on a snow bank...

Spencer loved it, though he was a bit nervous about the loud noises at first...

Slumber party in Brian and Kamber's room! In order to get the babies to sleep, we put the "bigger" kids on our bedroom floor, Spence in our bathroom in a pack-n-play, and Baby M in the other bedroom in his pack-n-play. It worked great -- then we were able to stay up late and play games, just us grown-ups!

Guess what? Our camera died that first night with everyone together. Sad, sad. So, we didn't get any pics of the parade or the fabulous ice sculptures this time. But... Wade did (check his blog), and so did Melissa (check her blog -- end of Jan).

Next Event -- Sledding with the Ward

We had an EQ party for families from church, up at Idaho City a few weeks ago. It turned out to be really fun! Chili and hot chocolate, and some great hills that were perfect for the kids...

Samantha had a BLAST!! She got pulled with a 4-wheeler some of the time, then she took off with friends and went tubing/sledding over and over again!

One more of Samantha, sliding down with friends...

Spence, well, he loved the hot cocoa best.

And endured being pulled in a sled by Mom or Dad...

Winter in our own back yard.

Believe it or not, we've hardly had ANY snow here at our house this winter. Any snow time has had to be when we GO somewhere to play in the snow. So, we were very excited a couple of weeks ago to see a few inches in our back yard one morning. Samantha and Grandpa Dennis went out and made two very handsome snowmen...

We should have taken more pictures of these great snowmen! Just a few through the window, because the Mom didn't feel like bundling up and going out with the camera...

But they lasted a few days, in spite of the warm weather...

The kids have enjoyed being out in the back yard on some of the warmer days. We even saw rainbow in January one evening...

Can't tell, but it was a great big, bright, double rainbow, stretching all the way to the ground on both sides. Not bad, for January!!

That's all for now, folks! I'm just proud to actually be posting ANYTHING at this point... as my pregnancy sickness continues to be "on par" for the course. ha!

Turns out, I AM.

So, remember in that last post that I wrote a month ago... I mentioned a two hour nap and how it was all due to my late night quilting? Couldn't be that I was pregnant, I wrote. Remember?

Well. Turns out, I am! Hence, the ultimate pause in bloggering. Just laying around, whimpering on the couch, running to the bathroom to dry heave or worse. Yep. Test positive.

And, for the record, I'm VERY excited and happy about it! We've been hoping to add to our family for awhile now, so this is very exciting news for us. Due date, October 12. So, I'm about two months along now, according to the charts. Terrible at keeping this kind of secret, mainly because I feel lousy enough I just can't hide it.

Anyway, the blogging pause will likely continue, because being online nauseates me. Just wanted to send a shout out and say ... YAY for baby number three on the way!

Random Writing

My blog is old and blah. I know! I just don't have much to say, and I'm too far behind on the stuff that I SHOULD write, so I feel like I'll never catch up. So, instead, today you get the off-the-top-of my head thoughts.

First, you should know I took a two hour nap today. It was heavenly, except for the many interruptions from Samantha after her one-hour movie ended; she kept poking her head in, with "Mom, I don't know what to do?" or shoving things under the door, like a pair of beads, some socks, etc. I ignored it and proceeded with my nap until I was ready to wake. Only, I never really got ready to wake up, but I had to anyway because someone has to get dinner for this family, right?

The nap leads me to the second bit you should know. Yes, you're all wondering what kind of mother just leaves her kids and takes a TWO HOUR nap in the middle of the day? Uh, yeah, you're right, a pregnant mom would do that. But I'm not. Actually, a mom who was up verrrry late last night sewing a quilt would need a nap today. That's me, folks.

Remember last summer when I announced I made my first quilt, as a humanitarian project? Well, I'm now working on my SECOND quilt, also as a humanitarian project. If you remember (which I bet ya don't because it's not the kind of thing that sticks in people's memories), that first quilt took me about three weeks to complete the top and get it ready for tying.

Well. This time, I have three days till this little beauty has to be ready to tie at the "Pie and Tie" Saturday night!! What in the WORLD got into me, volunteering for such an undertaking?? I am not a quilter! I said that to myself last night as I sat sewing row after row, late into the night. I am NOT a quilter!

But... deep down somewhere inside of me.... well... maybe, in fact, I AM a bit of a quilter after all. I actually really enjoy the monotony of it, especially working late into the night, using my hands to make something while my mind is free to wander and do whatever it wants. All the while, something tangible and creative is taking shape beneath my fingers. Something that tracks my progress and begs me to do just one more row. Wow! I like the sense of accomplishment, and. oddly, there's something very domestically satisfying in quilting. Am I the only one to have discovered this??

Maybe it's because my "day job" is so full of intangible rewards, or long term "projects" (like, raising toddlers?), or things that just have to be done as maintenance (like mopping that kitchen floor AGAIN), things that don't stay done or have to be done over and over again (like cooking dinner?) So, to actually have a project that actually gets DONE and is actually immediately useful to someone (and I actually like the word actually quite a bit today, actually) .... well, see where I'm coming from? If you haven't tried quilting, I recommend it... or something that offers some kind of good, quick sense of accomplishment.

So, third random thing to share... I'm reading an enjoyable book right now. It's not fabulous literature, but it's historical fiction, and interesting enough to keep me up late on the nights I'm NOT finishing that darn quilt. It's another Gerald Lund -- The Undaunted -- about the Hole-in-the-Rock pioneer expedition. So, it's been about a decade since I read any Lund stuff. (W&G got tedious after 5 volumes, who can argue?) But what I enjoy are all his endnotes about the historical facts surrounding the various incidents he's depicting in each chapter. I actually feel like I'm learning a lot of untold history, and having a fun read in the process. Maybe it's because this one starts in the coal mines of Manchester, England... makes me miss London, I guess? And I've never really learned a thing about the Hole-in-the-Rock expedition. But, I did go over Escalante Pass once, and have since been amazed with that southern Utah country -- still so rugged and desolate. I'm impressed with all the research Lund put into this one, pretty thorough. Good read, for those who wonder.

Fourth randomness... Spencer just took a full spray bottle to our baby grand piano. Sad, sad day! I think it will be fine, but it just made me sick when I found him, water squirted over all the keys, all across the back board, and the bench. Man! I just got him up five minutes ago. Sigh. Guess mother-duty is back on for now. Any thoughts on what we should have for dinner on a day like today?? (It's 5:20 p.m. now, so whatever it, I hope it's quick!)

Bye for now. Promise, next round will be either more back-bloggin' about Christmas stuff, or I'll throw in the pics of our lovely weekend in the mountains of McCall. Stay tuned...

More Back-Bloggin: Home Improvements and Holidays

So, I'm still way behind on the blogging, as you can tell. I thought I'd just quickly catch up on things I meant to write months ago. Not much writing, and just a few pics to capture the fun times we've been having around here.

First, while Brian was gone, I did manage to get a few of my home-improvement projects checked off the list...

Painted that one accent wall in the living room. More yellow, I know. And I love it. Looks much better in person than on the computer, believe me.
Got those adorable curtains for the kitchen, and I'm still very much in love with them.
See how cute the print is, up close? It's almost Hawaiian, I think...
Hung the travel pictures above our bed, finally...
They make me happy. :) (so does the little guy in the corner.)
And got the curtains for the piano room.

Things are looking a lot more finished around the house now!

As for the holidays... We really had a blast the whole season (except for the dud of a New Years Eve, which you've already heard about.) So here are some highlight shots...

The downtown lights of Caldwell are really quite charming...

Took all the cousins for an outing to walk around seeing the lights and singing carols. It was cold, but fun, too...

Had plenty of family parties at our house that looked like this...

Celebrated Samantha's birthday at Grandma and Grandpa's house. Sam wore a princess dress all day, and dressed it up that night with her favorite present, the hot pink bathrobe...

Now, no laughing at the lovely Castle Cake I made. Seriously, I had an hour and a half to put something together, from start to finish. And Samantha and her cousins were ecstatic with the results...

That about wraps it up. Oh, one more. Here's our tree...

It fell over three days after we put it up! No one was even near it. We just heard a loud noise in the living room and came in to find our gorgeous REAL tree toppled over. Decorations were everywhere, and pine needles, too! Sad day. But we put it back up and it lasted the rest of the season.

Of course I have more to post, but will have to save it for the next edition of Back-Bloggin. Stay tuned...