And here's the reason we now paint outside!

So ,we like to do messy art projects at our house. Normally I'm all for it and love it. But while the weather has been decent, I have redone my perspective on things. Mainly - we now paint outside instead of inside. Nicholas can paint inside. But Abby must paint outside. Or else I am investing in a very large tarp to cover everything. Thank goodness it was all washable. Although the red didn't really wash out of the grout. Anyone know a good grout cleaner?

Nicholas and Abby painting inside.

Abby painting outside.

My recent craft projects.

So I have been working on a few projects, all for Abby's room. 

The first thing I worked on was a princess thing to cover her crib. The while walls in her room - in all the house - are driving me nuts. I feel like I am in an institution.

So, 10 yards of tulle, 8 yards of ribbon, 200 sequins, 14 beads and a heart charm later I am done. There is enough fabric in this that when she is older I can hang it from the center of the ceiling over her bed and tie it down to the bed. I can add more sequins balls on the top if I need to, or attach more tulle to the bottom.

All I did was use the white tulle to cover the ball and stitched it together underneath. Then I alternated the purple and blue tulle, gathering it and then stitching it to the white tulle. The ribbons are pinned into the ball with pearl headed pins and hang down on the inside and outside. The ball is covered in sequins and ribbons. It's quite pretty up close. There is a heart charm hanging in the middle off a beaded chain. At the moment it looks less than graceful because I have to tie it up to prevent Abby from grabbing it. Her new name should be grabby Abby.

The princess thing came from seeing all those netting things that cover little girls' beds. But they are all so delicate and white, and I certainly didn't need any more white in her room.

The idea for the A came from a friend's house. She had these letters in her girls' bathroom and had ribbons hanging down. On the ribbons hung their hair clips. So I decided to do the same for Abby.

The purple paint has glitter over it. The ribbons are odds and ends from other projects (it is nice to be able to use them for something!). Now I can see all her hair clips. Which is the only good thing about them since she doesn't like to wear them much. This way, they at least brighten up her room instead of sitting on the shelf doing nothing.

It turns out that I should definitely stay away from anything involving painting. First, I'm not patient enough for it. Second, I'm bad at it. There's nothing to make your self confidence fall to the bottom faster than having your 3 year old son say, "Mommy, that doesn't look right."

And he's right - it stinks. I got these canvases from Michael's on a $1 sale. They had some paint (I also used the paint I had at home because it was better) and were like coloring book pages - the drawing was already on it. All I had to do was paint it. And I couldn't even manage that. It really does suck.

 But for the time being, Abby won't notice so they are hanging in her room because that's where they were supposed to go.


So what did I learn? Stick to fabric and sewing and stay away from painting.

My Little Pirate

I love my little pirate! He's decided that his costume has to be worn all day long. So if you see us running errands today, don't be surprised about the pirate I have along. He's excited!

Sacramento Children's Museum

So, for our preschool field trip we went to the Sacramento Children's Museum. It is a blast. I am totally sure our membership is going to be worth it. There is no way we won't use this place.

First, it is all of 10 minutes from our house. Second, it is across from Costco. This means, to avoid fights out the door, I can offer the incentive of getting Costco food for lunch. It is totally worth the $2 for pizza to get out of the door without a fight or a temper tantrum.

This place is nice. They have all the explanations for the various scientific principles taking place on the walls or attached to the exhibits. This means we can read about the exhibit and explain it to the kids without appearing stupid :) It is always a plus to be able to answer the "Why?" question with honesty and without having to resort to google-ing it. Nicholas actually can tell you to "Google it," when you tell him you don't know the answer to something. I guess I have taught him something about computers after all!



While you are paying your money and checking in, they have this giant light-bright thing. Remember the toy where you put up the sheet of paper on the lighted screen and poke holes through the paper with the pegs? Well, it is a giant one of those. Although the holes are already poked and the pegs just go into the holes. It is great because it means the kids aren't pestering me while I am paying/checking in.

They also have family bathrooms. This is a plus for me because they have changing tables and I can go in with Nicholas without him complaining about going into the "girls" bathroom. Happy days!

This giant vacuum toy is on the wall first thing. You put the scarves and balls into it and it sucks them around and spits them out. Abby happily sits here and giggles as everything gets spit out. She chases the scarves and balls around to collect them .



They also have this store area. There is a little register, a scale, and lots of play food to play with. It comes with baskets and a wheelbarrow. Nicholas was kind enough to load up the wheelbarrow for Abby before taking off to go play somewhere else.

Then Abby decided that the wheelbarrow had an off-label purpose: a climbing toy. She insisted on getting in and climbing in it. She actually climbed onto the counter once. I pulled her off and she complained. That was that for Abby's climbing day.

She also was upset that the fruit wasn't real. She would put it in her mouth and try to bite, then not get anything, and be annoyed. It was amusing, but I did feel bad for her.

There is also an art area. They have this big window between the art area and the play areas were the kids can paint on the window. It is great. Nicholas loves to do this because it isn't something you get to do at home - I'm not insane enough to let him paint on the windows. But here, he gets to paint on the windows. It was fun putting my face on one side and then he would paint over me looking through the window. Then we'd move on.

There are also tons of other projects to do in the art room - we just didn't get around to them because, right next to the art room is.......

THE WATER AREA!!!

My children love water. Except Nicholas doesn't like swimming pools that are so deep he can't stand in them. But otherwise, water is great. They never want to get out of the pool in the yard, the bath tub, and if the hose is turned on you have no chance of turning it off without a fight. Every container we have in the back yard has been filled with water at some point. Water is great.

So imagine their joy with the water play area. The best thing was, they have these seats (see where Abby is?) that are for little kids to sit in and play. Abby loved this. I tried getting her out and she stuck her legs out so I couldn't get her out and grabbed on so hard while screaming. I imagine her words would have been, "Not on your life mommy!" It's a great play area. They have some explanations here too, but we just played.

Anyways, we love it here and will be back, multiple times.

Jon's week off.

Jon had last week off. It was a blast. I got a lot done. I had a goal of one room cleaned a day, plus the gym, plus sewing, plus the yard. And some of that list even got done!

We also did a lot that week. We went to Apple Hill, to the Sacramento Children's Museum, and a ton of other places. We were quite the busy family.



We went to the same farm we went to last year in Apple Hill - it's #20 in case anyone is interested. It has some great Halloween stands to take pictures in, a pond to throw rocks into (for Nicholas), some animals to pet and feed, a hay maze (although it was closed because of the rain), nature trails, great BBQ sandwiches (or just the meat in my case), and great deserts and stores.



Abby liked the dirt the best. I am lucky she is so easy to please. Just put her down in a pile of dirt and she will be happy. She will also be dirty and will eat the dirt, but oh well. It is a small price to pay to be able to make her happy.




We also went to the Sacramento Children's Museum. It is a blast. We immediately got a membership there. Nicholas loves it, Abby loves it (more on the museum in a later post), and it is small. Small enough that I can play with Abby in one part and watch Nicholas in another. There is only one way in and out, and they don't let people come in without kids. They also have roaming staff members to help out. We have been back 2 other times since last week. it is fabulous.



The kids also did a lot of playing outside. They love the sandbox in the back. Who knew Crabby (that's the name of the sandbox, courtesy of Nicholas) would be so great. Best money spent on a back yard toy yet - except for the pool.



And so our week with Jon ended. Too bad. Now his busy season at work starts back up and we are lucky to see him at all once that starts.

Things we all know can happen in less than 3 minutes....

Like with kids is filled with fun events that happen in under three minutes, like:

1. The older child filling a bowl of water and dumping it on the younger child - on the carpet - and calling it a bath.

2. Poop poop everywhere (this should need no explanation).

3. Every drawer in the kitchen opened - and they have baby locks on them - and everything pulled out.

4. Cheerios placed everywhere. You might mistakenly think our house is made of bubble wrap form the sounds.

5. Milk from the fridge was helpfully "poured" into cups for everyone.

So this all adds up to 15 minutes of fun for the children and about 3 hours of cleaning for me. I realize they are having fun. My mother just smiles serenely when I tell her these stories. I know inside she's laughing like a hyena. But at least she tries to commiserate.

Just to brag

I've been absent from blogging for a while. It seems to take more energy than I have at the end of the day. So I'm trying to catch up. But for the moment - we took these pictures formally yesterday.

Yes, I made the dress. It's her Christmas dress. I made the top stretchy, so I hope it still fits at Christmas time. I was finishing it (by hand!) the morning of the pictures.

But it was totally worth it.






I have the cutest kids on the whole planet.

But then, every mother thinks so.

"In our religion, martyrs die."

Ok. I admit to feeling a little strange right about now. I am feeling worn out over all the activities. We have a joy school preschool group, gymnastics and dance (at the gym), and friends to have playdates with. We have skills I need to teach Nicholas, time I need to spend with Abby, a house to clean and yards to upkeep. This doesn't count all the other things I do, or Jon does, or the kids want to do. Finding time for all of us together is hard.

But I was reading about the new movie with SJP - "I Don't Know How She Does It" - and thought to myself - Wow! I don't want to be that mom. I want to be the mom who is cool and does enough - not to be the mom who is constantly apologizing and trying to do way too muchl.

I only have 2 kids. I don't want to be the perpetual taxi mom who falls into bed exhausted at the end of the day from being everywhere, all the time, for everyone. Sometimes things fall into the cracks.

Which is why this quote hit me so hard. "In our religion, martyrs die." They do. In every religion. That's the definition of a martyr right? (see the article here). It is so true.

So here's to feeling less like I am not doing enough and more to feeling like I am doing enough. And enough is all I have to do.

Professional photos and books....and other random stuff.

I just want to say thank you to my wonderful friend Erin L for taking these pictures and sending them to me. These are the first professional pictures I have of my children and they are great. It reminds me why you should have professional pictures taken every so often.

It just so happened that she came to the stake softball game with a new lens and wanted to try it out. I am certainly not opposed to my children being guinea pigs for photographers. If there are any other photographers out there, my children will happily be your guinea pigs.

On a side note, stake softball is over. I am sad. We have spent our past 3 Saturdays playing softball and it has been great. I have forgotten how much fun it is. Our ward's team won - by quite a bit - every time. Not that I am competitive or anything :)

My editor sent me a letter a few weeks ago at the beginning of August. It started with, "I like your book but..." Essentially, I need to add 20,000 - 30,000 words to my story. She had some suggestions for where good additions would be and what types of things I should add. So I am working my way through it. Unfortunately, the deadline is September 1, 2011. It is August 29, 2011 and I have 10,000 words to go to hit the minimum. So I guess I know what I am doing all night long. I will know by October 15th if the book is going to be published or not. So if not, I guess I am starting on a new book and seeing where it goes from there. Maybe I will submit this one to Amazon and Barnes and Noble for epublishing. Who knows. I am a little nervous to have people I know read my writing. People I don't know are fine, but people I know I am nervous about. So we shall see.

Our family is doing great. We are just having fun and hanging out as a family. I am enjoying this time of year. We get to go to all the fun attractions around Sacramento and they aren't very crowded because school is in session. So it is fun.

On the to-do list for this week is the zoo and sewing and book writing. Today is the zoo because it is free admission day. Nicholas and I spent Abby's morning nap looking at animals on various websites (for more information, see our homeschool blog). It was a blast and I am looking forward to taking him to the zoo and seeing all the animals in person. Everything else can wait until after the zoo.

The Nevada County fair

We went to the Nevada County fair on Friday. We decided against going to the State fair this year because it was too expensive for what the kids would get out of it. And it is a big fair. Really big. We had also heard stories about some of the kids and teenagers there, and we remembered how true those stories were from last year's visit.

So I looked around for other things for us to do as a family, and found the Nevada County fair. It is a bit of a drive from Sacramento (it tooke an hour and 20 minutes to get there; and hour and 45 minutes to get back). But it was totally worth it.

First, it was only $9 for entry and $7 for parking. And they let you take in all your food. In fact, people take in so much food that they have covered picnic spots all over. That was very nice. Second, it is smaller, and very family oriented. They have face painting and all kinds of kids stuff for cheap or free. It is very family oriented. We loved it.



Of course our kids had to eat soon after we got there. That was fine. We put them in the stroller with snacks and meandered our way to the horses. The horses were great. No one cared that we stopped by every horse (in and out of stalls) and petted them. We talked to them all. The owners all came up and talked to use about the horses and Nicholas got a bunch of his "why" questions answered by the owners (somehow, he didn't want me to answer them).



Then we went to see the cows, pigs, goats, chickens, and rabbits. Everyone was super nice and let Nicholas pet anything he wanted to. They had some saddles sitting on hay bales that the kids could get on and use ropes to rope sawhorse bulls. Nicholas had a blast. I finally got a good picture of them both where they are looking at the camera.



The US Forest Service and CalFire all had fire trucks there. There was a nice young man who was a CalFire firefighter that talked to Nicholas for a LONG time. He put Nicholas up on the fire trucks, showed him where the wheel and horns and sirens were. Answered a TON of questions like, "Why are fire trucks red?" He was very nice and very good with kids. I am continually amazed how good firefighters are with kids. Although I guess they see a lot of them.

It was a great fair. They had a dog show that was great. After the dog show we had some meltdowns by both kids and decided to leave. On our way out we got cotton candy and some cold water and only spent $4! I mean, you can't do that at bigger fairs.

It was a blast and I am glad we went and will totally put it on the calendar to go next year too.

Motherhood

There are sometimes when I think I am blessed to be a mother and sometimes when I know I am blessed to be a mother. Don't get me wrong, motherhood is very rewarding, but sometimes I do forget that most of all, I want to be a mother.

Those days are few and far between. I have my moments: When the neighbors know my children's full names and people on the other side of town can probably do an impression of me saying, "What in the world happened here?" But those moments always fade from memory once the offender curls into my lap and says sorry (usually after he has to clean up the mess).

Motherhood is filled with all sorts of fun. When else do you get to go to a park and run around as an adult? Or have a good excuse for playing in mud, building sand castles, playing in a kiddie pool, and cleaning the kitchen floor with sponges on your feet? Or playing hockey with ice cubes on the kitchen floor, watching cartoons, and snuggling in a bed with stuffed animals? There are the fun times with reading and art, watching kids build new skills, and being proud of them when they do something great.

But then there are the other times: The late and never ending nights, the days when everything a body can produce has been produced and dumped on you, the frustration of wondering if a record player could do just as good of a job as a parent since you spend all day saying, "What are you doing?" and "Really?" and "No," and "Why did you do that?" and "Stay away from the road," and "be nice to your sister," and all those repetitive phrases. And the nights where you finally get to sleep, only to be woken up by someone at your bedside saying they are scared and won't sleep unless they are in your bed and cuddling with you - not their father who is blissfully sleeping, but you.

Anyways, sometimes it just helps to remember that motherhood is a blessing overall.

And when all else fails, put the kids in the back yard with some dirt and trucks and watch them make a mess :) It will bring a smile to anyone's face.

Davis Ranch Sweet Corn Festival

On Saturday July 16, 2011 we went, for the first time, to the Davis Ranch Sweet Corn Festival. I have been on a country music kick, and heard about this festival on the radio. Then I checked it out online. I saw the words "free" and "tractor rides" and knew Nicholas was going to love it.



Look - Jon and I actually got a picture - taken together - with no kids! We can now have one from our wedding, and from 2011. It seems that between the 2 kids, we hardly get any pictures taken anymore. As a side note, I was standing on a hay bale with my boots on (1 inch heel - western boots). That's why we are almost the same height. I don't think this would fool anybody who knows us. And I fit into my western boots - which means I have been losing weight :)



Nicholas did the pony rides. At first he didn't want to. Then he saw that the ponies were "little horses" and thought it would be fun. These were not free, but I ponied up (haha) and let him ride. Oh my, the fit when the ride ended. I think someone is going to horse camp next summer.



He had a blast on the tractor rides. They did 2 in a row. Nicholas had no intention of getting off the tractor. They rode forever and ever. Which was fine because I held Abby and we wandered around and she yelled with excitement. Then she crashed in her stroller and took a nice nap and I got to sit in the hay bales, in the shade, and smell the cows.



I got a picture of me and Nicholas too. I don't have many of those since I am normally the one behind the camera. This picture was taken at the hay bales where you could sit and listen to music.



They had free bounce houses too. Nicholas probably spent an hour or so bouncing while Jon and I sat and watched and Abby napped. We got to talk - which we don't often get to do during the day with the two kids. And then the band started playing. I am all for giving people a chance, but the music wasn't that awesome. They had sound problems (the lead female vocalist had her mike up WAY too loud), and they simply weren't that good. I don't mind semi-professionals, or even people who just do it for fun, but then you shouldn't be overly ambitious with the songs that you pick as a band.

We did stop by their produce section before leaving. They have fabulous produce at great prices. Nicholas and Jon picked strawberries and we ate them all that day. We also have corn galore and love it. Nicholas even eats the corn. So I have found my new produce spot.

We loved the festival and will return next year and for the gourd festival in September.

Things you forget...

There are things you think you will never forget about kids. yet by the time the second one comes around, you have forgotten them.

For instance - I have forgotten how messy they get when they are first learning to eat. And how they get into EVERYTHING when they start crawling - simply because they can.

Abby is quite the proficient crawler right now; at least when she wants to be. Sometimes she decides it is not worth the trouble and cries until you come get her, but when she wants to, she can move. I left them in my sight while I went to the bathroom, and when I got out, I knew she had crawled away. To the diaper bag she went, in search of food. She found the Cheerios, emptied the container out onto the floor, and was happily munching away. This is about 10 minutes after she ate strawberries, a chicken nugget, yogurt, and some baby food. Nice to know both my children can be motivated by food.

Nicholas doesn't like that she can crawl and reach his toys. He likes to have "races" with her while they crawl outside. But not when she's trying to get his toys. He's getting a quick lesson in the reasons he needs to pick up his toys instead of leaving them on the floor. That quick lesson is called Abby. if he has it, she wants it. My girl likes cars and trucks - since that's what her brother has. I tried to get her a doll, and she has no interest. She does like the stuffed cow. She tosses it around and rolls all around the floor with it. She always ends up on top of it, holding the horns, eating the cow. So I figure she's going to be a rodeo super star and a carnivore. Not a bad combo.

Jon and I are doing well. The gym has been a great savior for me - it gives me "alone" time every day I go. Not time by myself to do what I want, but time alone - without the kids - to just focus on working out. It's a great mental stress reliever. And physical stress reliever too.

Hope everyone is doing well and Happy 4th of July (almost)!

Dresses and skirts

I have been on a sewing kick lately. I have made 2 skirts and 2 shirts for me, and some clothes for Abby. I have a problem buying daisy dukes for babies, and those seem to be the only shorts that exist for little girls, so I make hers. I also make skirts and dresses.

On the left is the newest dress; a heather gray jersey 2-way stretch knit with ruffled shoulders, gathered skirt, a black and white bow with fuchsia sequins and a black and white waist band with fuchsia sequins. The top has an elastic band around it so that I can simply adjust the back velcro when she gets bigger and the top will expand with her.

It is important to me to make clothes that she can grow with because then it isn't a waste of fabric or time to make her clothes. She's currently wearing 24 month clothes, and she's only 7 months. It is also why I make the dresses longer. I don't like showing off her diaper, and I don't know how to make the pants that go under the dresses, so dresses get made longer.

Isn't this a cute picture of her in the dress with her headband on? She got her picture taken right before church and right after a nap so she's still happy and smiling.

Next up is her purple skirt. This started as a tiered summer dress and ended as a skirt. I cut the fabric, then waited 2 weeks to sew because things kept coming up. So the top of the outfit didn't fit her. So I cut off the skirt portion, put in an elastic band at the top, edged it with some ribbon, and now she has a happy summer skirt. The fabric is really lightweight so I had to double it (or line it). It's simply gathered with elastic, nothing dramatic. No tulle or anything.

My next project is a new top and dress for me. Hopefully I will get to cut it sometime this week and sew this weekend. We shall see.

Our potatoes are in!

Today, while we were outside to try and make everyone happy, I realized it was time to harvest potatoes. I use harvest slightly loosely, since I have about 10 potato plants in a planter box on the ground in our yard - I don't have to walk far (about 10 steps) to get them, and there are not a lot of them. But it is fun to plant them because they always grow for me (this is not true of everything).

Nicholas decided he wanted to help. After he pulled up a strawberry plant, thinking it was a potato plant - and no, I don't know how he got those mixed up - I put him on washing duty. He loves playing with the hose, so this would be perfect for him. See his surprised face when the water splashes from the potato onto him? This happened the first time when he held the potato too close to the hose while cleaning them, then it happened again and again. I figured he could only be surprised so long, but he loved it.

Hoses are great toys for kids in the backyard.

I heard a news article about how hoses are bad for kids these days. Yeah right, I lived through hoses as a kid. I had no problem with them. My son can handle the "problems" that come from a hose. I love hoses for kids - he loves them, he gets to cool off, he drinks water (for a change), and he gets clean. How much more can a mom wish for?

He put all the potatoes on the grass and then gathered them into his lap for a picture. He wanted a picture with "his" tomatoes.

He also spent some time inside today. We are dealing with a sick baby girl, so sometimes we have to spend time inside that I would rather spend outside. And here's a great picture to explain why I prefer outside - there are no toys to cause problems with. He gets rather creative with new uses for toys.
This used to be his bouncer, and is now his sister's. When the seat cover had to go into the washer this morning, he decided it was his new "exercise" gym. He hangs in the middle and bounces, then he lays himself over the top and bounces. Who knew bouncers for infants were really for kids?

Rolling and teething.

Abby is moving and teething. Unlike other children, Abby has to move by rolling. I joke that it is because she's so big she doesn't have the muscles to support her crawling. But really it is because she simply prefers that way. Plus, it is faster. I was standing about 20 feet from her, talking to Nicholas when all of a sudden she was pulling on my jeans. So she can move when she wants to. She would rather scream and cry until someone comes and gets the toy she wants, picks her up, or whatever she needs. Nicholas generally is the obliging one. I like to try and get her to stretch herself before I do it for her.

She's also teething. For those people who don't have a child who has gone through teething I will tell you this - kids are so different. With Nicholas he cried and whined, but with Tylenol and some teethers he would calm down and sleep. He didn't get sick or refused to eat. He just kept on eating a ton, drooling a ton, and the teeth came in. After which I would promptly get bit.

Abby, on the other hand, doesn't want to eat thank you very much. It hurts. Even with Tylenol. She's not a good teether. Yes, she likes to munch on teethers. But she prefers cell phones (if anyone is crazy enough to leave them out for her), fingers, shoulders, your clothes (preferably the ones that get ruined or see-through when wet), paper, and toes. When none of those are available, her older brother will do. Nicholas doesn't like this much, which results in some serious crying from Abby and a scolding by Nicholas. Nicholas says "Abby. mouths are for food only. And apple juice." (Can you tell we have gone through this before with him?) It is kind of funny. It would all be funnier if it was happening to someone else, or at some other time.

I'm still going to the gym most days. I had to skip today. I had great plans today. I was going to go to the dentist, then come home and get the kids, go to the gym, go swimming with the kids, do Costco, then do our UC Davis visit, then play outside. It's a nice day outside - not too hot. well, the dentist appointment turned into a root canal. So Costco and UC Davis got done, and the rest didn't. This root canal really hurts. It hurts even more when people "snuggle" against my face because they are tired and refuse to take naps when their sibling is still awake (both children refuse to go to sleep if the other one is awake - makes for fun at our house).

Anyways, that's the news from the Wunderlich's. I will try to be better about blogging, if only because it lets me get some of our funnier experiences out there for records.

Weight loss saga continues...

So as everyone knows, I'm trying to lose weight. And at the moment, I am having a lot of success. Some of it comes from having to eat gluten-free; all the junk foods you know and love are gone. Your snacks are cheese, yogurt, apples, and maybe some salami. Your meals are mostly healthy and made at home, because it is too hard to go out and find gluten-free stuff. So it is easier to moderate the food.

However, I have also joined a gym and started working out recently - I am in my second week of the gym now. I made going on walks part of our daily routine before the gym; I would pick a letter and we would go on a walk, finding things of that letter. I also made it a point to play more with Nicholas at parks and at home. So I was doing more.

Between the limiting food and burning more calories I am now down 68 pounds. I have gone from a ridiculous size 24 to a size 18. That's a lot of inches and pounds. I have done this once before. In the 2 years between Abby and Nicholas I lost 100 pounds, so I know it can be done. It just takes some serious will power. It means not enjoying snacks whenever they are offered. It means leaving butter off vegetables (and that really sucks) and working out, even when I am tired. It is difficult, but it can be done.

Now, I need to find a really good pair of shoes and a new workout bag since I think I deserve it. Hopefully, in a month, I will lose another 8 pounds and be down another size. I have figured it out, a size is about 2 inches off my waist, and 2 inches is about 15 pounds or so. So I can do this, I just have to have willpower. Thanks to everyone who is supporting me in my quest to do this.

Almost a month.

It has been almost a month since I posted on here. I got into the habit of posting, and then - Savior of the World happened. I got out of the habit of posting, and haven't been back into it. But here's the recap of the past month to catch everyone up on what we have been doing.

I did a lot of sewing for the production. It totally wore me out of sewing. Yet, I promised Nicholas a Lightening McQueen sweatshirt.



It even has a hood, a zipper (red naturally) in the front, and a big McQueen car on the back. Needless to say, he wanted to sleep in it. I drew the line at that. But it has been worn everyday for a month. It is holding up to the washing rather well. Until the last wash. Jon did the last wash and used warm water. The sweatshirt shrunk. Now it is a little tight around his tummy. Nicholas says that he can just wear it without the zipper so it won't be tight.



I also made Abby's Easter dress. It is a little longer than most little girl dresses because I don't like having her diaper show. It's not my thing. It is cute on some kids when they have those cute little bloomers over their diapers, but I ran out of time and couldn't make a set to match, so the dress was simply longer.



They are growing up so fast! Abby turned 6 months on May 8th (the day this picture was taken was May 1). Coincidently, that was also the day my son decided to be sick and spend puking everywhere. I have a Mother's Day curse. My first Mother's Day Jon made me breakfast in bed - and gave us food poisoning. So I packed Nicholas up - he was only 2 months old - and took him down to my mom's. The next mother's day was horrible too - everyone was sick. Then I was studying for my comprehensive exams and having horrible pregnancy related problems last Mother's day. The curse needs to be broken. Or else.



I made Nicholas a new fort. What wonderful things you can do with PVC pipe and some fabric. He really likes it and hides in it all the time. It looks a lot better in our living room than the cardboard box.




We finally put the sandbox and wading pool up in the backyard. Our backyard is Nicholas' favorite place to be. He likes to run around naked and play in the wading pool and sandbox. I try to get him to put clothes on, but he thinks it is so much easier to play in the water when he is naked. And if I send him out there with clothes on to play in the sand, all of a sudden clothes come flying into the house and I hear splashing.

We joined California Family Fitness last week. This is the best decision ever. I have gone every day (except the weekend) and love it. They have "Kid's Club" aka childcare. You can leave kids for 2 hours, no appointment necessary. And they have all these fun activities for kids - art, ballet, dance, gymnastics, noodle hockey, crab soccer.....So Nicholas loves it. At first Abby would only go for 30 minutes, but today she went for a full hour. So I can get quite the workout in. I added weights to the routine today and I am really feeling it. But this was a great decision.

Our family is doing well. We are just waiting for some summer weather. It was slightly sunny today so I mowed the front lawn and planted some lilies. We shall see if they grow. I tend to kill things that need a lot of care, so we shall see.

So that's been our month. I will get back into the habit of blogging and it will be better.

Savior of the World - the recap

Well. It is over.

In a way this is nice - I have my Saturday's back, I'm not running around, I'm not listening to the same music over and over, trying to figure out where we are going wrong and how to fix it.

In a way this is sad - I miss the people and friendships involved.

And there is always a let down after putting 7+ months into something.

But the production is over.

It went well. Everyone was great, the audience was great, and there were no major disasters. The audience was full each time. It would be considered a great show by any standards.

People felt the spirit and were really experiencing the feelings that occurred to Jesus' closest friends and apostles after his death. The cast did a great job with the closing number; truly showing the joy that people had upon learning of his resurrection.

Tera Nelson - as Mary Magdalene - made me cry every time as she performed her "Where is He This Morn" song. The best line in the whole thing is "Where is he who walked with us, where is he who prayed?" She sings this song while at the tomb, wondering where Jesus' body is. This was a very moving moment.

The choir was fabulous! They did everything that was asked of them and worked really hard to get to the point where they were. The women worked hard, at the last minute, to learn multiple accompaniment parts. The men worked hard to be strong and lead in the various songs. They sounded wonderful.

I'm just excited I got to be a part of it. I felt a little bad sometimes, knowing that everyone was a volunteer and I was being tough on them. But hey - someone has to be the heavy and make sure all the little things are being taken care of. That someone was me :)

And now I am excited it is over. I need a little break, and then maybe I will be ready to tackle this again.

Thanks to everyone who made this such a great performance.

If you are looking for pictures, visit: www.savioroftheworldcordovastake.shutterfly.com

What we've been up to

It has been a while since I have updated the blog, so I am going to try and update most of April (so far) in one post. It's not that I don't like updating my bog, it's simply that it takes time - which I do not seem to have these days. I seem to be losing time. I know there are 24 hours in a day, but I never know where they go. Or rather, I know where they go and I wish I had more. I have tried going without sleep, but that doesn't accomplish as much as I wish it would.



Nicholas learned about making forts from chairs, blankets, and pillows. So now, if we want to sit down on a chair at our dining room table, first we have to destroy a fort. Jon showed Nicholas how to do it to try and keep him occupied while General Conference was on TV, so he could watch, and it has now turned into a whole new thing in our house. Evidently the cardboard fort that mommy built isn't enough. He needs one fort with the sofas, chairs, pillows, and blankets, and another fort out of cardboard.

He says the pillow fort is to share with Abby and daddy (but not mommy) and the cardboard fort is for "me only" - meaning only Nicholas. But he does share with his sister.



We finished our first set of workbooks. I got a bunch of the preschool ones because I'm simply not creative enough to make up worksheets all the time to help him practice. Kids learn through repetition, and so I thought workbooks would be great. He couldn't decide which was cooler - that the certificate had a number 1 on it or that it had his name. Needless to say, it is now posted on the wall in our school room.



We go to library time at the Rancho Cordova Library now. The woman who does it is great. They do an hour of songs and stories and a craft. This was from the rainbow craft. I really like it for him. He says he doesn't have fun, but woe betide you if you try and take his craft away or not let him go. And he sings that silly apple song all the way home in the car. Want to know how many times a 4 line song can be sung from the library to our house? A lot.



We planted. I built some boxes and we planted the first set of plants. And an orange tree, a lemon tree, and an apple tree. And hydrangeas, three different types of lilies, and gardenias. It was a long day of work. And while I am happy with the result, it was hard. I carried 21 cubic feet of dirt from the car to the back yard. Abby liked it too - I put her in her playpen outside, under a sun shade, and she fell asleep for the longest nap she has ever taken on her own. Now I know the trick - put her outside.



And the best fun we've had with friends all month was our Teddy Bear Picnic - or stuffed dog picnic because most of the kids brought stuffed dogs. We did it with a bunch of mom's from the area at a local park. I made signs, and we all got together to eat lunch and play at the park for 2 hours. I cannot wait to get together with these moms again.

Oh yeah, and what else has been consuming my time? A little musical called "Savior of the World." It goes through the three days from the death of Jesus to his resurrection. And when I say consuming a little bit of time, I mean all of it. I'm happy to do it; I love musicals and I like directing and planning them. But, like with all productions, I am ready for it to be done. It has been almost 6 months of planning, practicing, rehearsals, and the like - so it is time for it to be done. I cannot believe I am considering undertaking a production of Handel's "Messiah" for Easter next year. All I need is a little down time.

I also have some projects near completion - Nicholas' Lightening McQueen sweatshirt and Abby's Easter dress are the two big ones. If only there was more time!

The Lightening McQueen cake

The request Nicholas had for his birthday party was a Lightening McQueen cake. I desperately tried to get him to go with cupcake, but no way. I took him to Michaels, intending to show him that there was Lightening McQueen cupcake toppers to use instead. But on the very bottom row, in a picture that was maybe 2 inches by 2 inches (and he was in the top of the cart, moving when he saw this) - he saw a Lightening McQueen cake pan. That was that.

I got everything the instructions said to get. I was sure I was going to be able to do it. I took some great advice and baked the cake early on Friday afternoon. It was a homemade chocolate cake. Nicholas, as the birthday boy, got to eat the batter off the mixer things. He look so sad about that.

But that morning I had been reading the directions and thought that maybe, just maybe, I was a little ambitious. I mean, who knows how to make stars all over? And why should there have to be blue in the windows instead of white? Why can't I just paint color all in? What is a crumb coat? Why do the stars in one spot have to be bigger than the others? Needless to say, my frosting experience is with cupcakes - not cakes.

So Hannah - bless her soul - volunteered to come over that night. She was awesome. She made the red (which I could not get going) and took over so I wasn't a complete head case. Shee how gorgeous it is?

I take full credit for the messy white frosting (home-made buttercream), the stars and sprinkles. Those were all me. And I did some of the other stuff too (like the black outlining in some places).

Nicholas was seriously excited when he saw it all done and was happy to blow out his candles. He had a great time eating Lightening McQueen.

He even asked for another Lightening McQueen cake. Not in this lifetime.