Fiber Rich

It was a successful visit to the local thrift store this week. I came out fiber arts rich and only $7 down. 2 twin size afghans, 1 throw, 1 crib size throw, and one...I'm calling it a shawl because that is how I am gonna use it. No holes, a few loose ends to crochet or knit back in and a couple stains that, thanks to the magic of homemade laundry soap paste and hand washing, came right out. They all washed up beautifully and dried very quickly on the line. Oh, and did I tell you, we are currently without a dryer, thankfully it is only August and a perfect time to hang all the laundry out to dry. The only thing that gives me pause is we need new prefold diapers, the ones we have are 6 years old now, and it was my intention to purchase some more, but I suppose we will have to go to the laundromat to fluff them up...that OR we could beg the favor of a neighbor. Anyway, this is about the wonderful scores from the thrift.

A twin size red, white, and blue blanket. I cant decide whether it will go in the guest room or the Independence day decor. Hell it may stay on this chair. It is marvelous.

FINALLY a granny square blanket, and its TWIN size. Weee!

I will probably store this with the Independence day decorations, as I don't see the lightness of color faring well as an every day use blankie.

Perfect size for baby or kiddo and it is all cotton.

I am going to use this as a shawl, it is very bright orange, but I like that a whole lot.

"Custom made, especially for you, by Helen Dworak". Thanks Helen.

This Moment

This Moment- A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember ( inspired by Soulemama)

A new use for that unfolded basket of laundry

We all have baskets of unfolded laundry around the house, right?
No?  
Just me?

Okay, well...Oh! YOU have one or two too, good!! So glad I am not the only one.

In my house there is always the dilemma of what to DO with said basket. Can't put it away, oh no, that would make sense, we like to leave one, willie-nillie, sitting about the house. You know, to trip over on occasion, for children to pick clothing out of rather than walking all the way upstairs to their closets, to get messy again and require rewashing before even being worn. You know how it is.

Turns out there is another USE! It works especially well on laminate flooring, I would assume hardwoods or tile would be equally as stellar. Full laundry baskets make EXCELLENT walking push toys for babies.  And if said baby gets tired they can lay right down in their walker, win/win. And this is a good reason to always have one ready and in the living room. That is my rationalization anyway...

Happy Wednesday!

"ME CAN do IT!!!"

I LOVE when RAT realizes he is capable of yet another big boy task. I have just spent the last 20 minutes watching him repeatedly, unhook his overalls, drop them to the floor and then put them back on and rehook them, all by his "own self", and then he proclaims "ME CAN do IT!...again Mommy?"  Of course buddy, do it again, ignore mommies poorly masked blubbering over how big you are, and carry on growing up... I will be cheering you on through my internal sobs. High five sir! I am very proud of you.

I missed him getting on by seconds

Why did you pick MAT's first day of first grade (CRAZY) to accomplish such great a feat!

You will notice one hand on "base", this is after the 20 second free stand as I was too afraid to leave him to get the camera in case he fell, which of COURSE he did not.

And not to be outdone, DOT chose today to stand for 20 seconds hands free of support (and frankly too wobble-free for my comfort level). He will be walking before I know it.

He made it three steps up the stairs yesterday before anyone noticed...and Yes the baby gate situation has been rectified, there will be no more unintentional baby mountain climbing for the foreseeable future.

Why so many big changes TODAY? Such is the way of things I suppose. You three are so BIG to me today.

You three are making me feel, happily mind you, completely obsolete. This momma needs some snuggle time, lest she feel unnecessary. I am a touch sad, but VERY proud, my heart bubbles over with pride. My big boys. So many big things for a Monday, what will the rest of the week bring?

Weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!

 

I love it. It is nowhere near finished, but nearly 4 hours of work and it being an hour after closing, required us to stop. I love it just as it is, I can only imagine its beauty when all colored up, I suppose I will know in a month. Thank you Ken for being a master of your craft, thank you Mr. T for the gift, and thank you boys for not driving your father mad while I was gone all last evening. And the biggest thank you to natural childbirth, for making every other discomfort not seem so bad.

This Moment

This Moment- A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember ( inspired by Soulemama)

Around here...

DOT is sitting up, all by himself.

Brothers are bonding

Monsters are being scary.

Fun is being had.

Sword fights are being fought.

Butterflies are loitering.

Gardens are OUT OF CONTROL.

Brothers are wrestling. ( and DOT is PULLING UP)

The chickens are laying, FINALLY,

(Isn't it dainty compared to the duck egg on the left?)

AWESOMENESS has arrived. 

 

(yes, thats right that says COMPLETE SERIES, Superb)

 

 

 

 

 

So that's what has been going on around here. Loads of windows open to let the breeze blow through, playing outdoors, new milestones being reached and smashed by a certain 6 toothed baby, lots of food preservation and prep, and most of all lots of time spend together whether it be watching critters or introducing my boys to my favorite ass kicking super-powered girls. Life is good folks, indeed it is.

Little by little, bit by bit...

 Mr. T has been working on the upstairs hallway. We are not fans of textured ceilings, some people are and that's ok, we are not. So a few weeks ago he started scraping, and spraying with loads of water. Fun fact, did you know unpainted textured ceilings can be removed with just scraping, but PAINTED textured ceilings require soaking and then lots of scraping, and then more water and more scraping.

Our smooth ceiling

But then, eventually, you have a bare surface ready for mud. Which, as it turns out, even a novice can do relatively well, with the proper tools...and a step ladder. (sorry, no pics of the bare ceiling or the mudding) And, also as it turns out, I kind of like mudding, good thing too, two bathrooms, 4 bedrooms and the entire downstairs ceilings have to be done eventually. When the mudding was done. Mr. T went off to the home store to buy some ceiling paint...he also purchased the wall paint, without a paint chip or a color given by me. I will admit I was nervous. It needed to be light because it is an upstairs hallway and the only natural light is let in from the bedrooms, and we are putting a chalkboard and old school maps up on the walls (more on those later, I promise) so it needed to be just right. I had mentioned I wanted a buttery yellow, error on the side of cream, rather than sunshine. I was thinking old paper to go with the maps. Good news, my husband is a rock star, he picked the exact color I wanted. Apparently we are on the same page. So after the ceiling was painted and the walls, I am safely saying we are 50% done with that hallway. Woohoo!
We have miles to go before this house is done. But knowing that the process is officially starting is incredibly satisfying.