Syke!

So.

It turns out that I'm not back after all.  You know what?  Life has just been more full of the living and less of the telling.  At the end of April, my sister in law visited for a few days.  She and her companion were headed towards some conventions and they got a few days before the trip.  So we got some extra time, and it was relaxin'.

Then, on May1st, my sister and nephew came to visit.  This is the Marine sis that got back from Afghanistan recently.  We are so glad to have her back!  And I've been too busy kissing baby cheeks to worry about my blog.  Yes, school has suffered.  But it's not every day that two-year-olds come to visit and I like to capitalize.  Tomorrow they leave *sniff* and real life can continue.  But it's been so nice to have them around!  Wish we all lived closer to each other!!!

So that is my excuse.  I'm here, and I'm around.  But life has called and I've listened.  So it's meager blog posts lately.

As we speak, my sis is putting her baby to bed.  Whenever she makes him do something he doesn't want to do, he cries out "Leeda!"  And as you can imagine, I leap to his defense with kissed and treats galore.  =) No, I'm not ashamed of myself one bit.  Right now he's chirping out a "Leeda" or two in hopes that I'll override his Mama.  =D  It's so fun!  Susan puts up with it really well, thank goodness!

So Happy Mother's Day, gals.  I think this is the perfect Proverbs 31 day when the work of our hands is our reward.  Because we all know that fame and glory are not attained by being moms.  But it can be very  enthralling, engaging, tough and stimulating work!  Especially that part about how we have to first BE all the things we want our kids to grow up to be. =)  Whew!

Off to spend a last night with #4!

I'm Back!

I'm home again and now it's time to get in the swing of real life!  Actually, I've been home for a week and I'm still not in the swing of things.  I think I am ready for summer vacation.  Must......do......school!

I had a great trip, took the kids up to northern Idaho for some family time.  Spent time with a sweet niece and nephew, spent time with my folks and my two siblings still at home then went to the wedding of a first cousin and got to see SO MUCH WONDERFUL family!  My grandma, some aunties and uncles, more cousins, some with spouses and children, yay!  And I left my camera at my parents and got pictures of nothing.  Zip.  (Not quite as bad as video taping my nephew's birth by hitting the record button when it was already recording, thereby stopping the camera at the crucial moment....)  My parents are moving in with my mother's grandparents, so my sister and I went up to my parents and "helped" them pack, bringing along our five children.  A busy time, a good time and as always, over too soon.

While I was up there, I got to pirate my sister's facebook and see family and stuff.  My principles are far, far too high to allow facebook for myself, but not too high to piggy back off of hers.  =D  Anyway, the point is that my very cool uncle (a few mere years older than myself) posted a link to this youtube video and I love it!  It's inspiring and fun, makes me want to have a family band.  So we'll be getting a piano one of these days, maybe a drum set, too.  Might as well embrace the noise with kids, eh?  

The SNL skit says it all about v-necks, though.   

Making the Peasant Dress

My sister sent me a link to this cool peasant dress, which I fell totally in love with.

I've heard before of this stretchy bobbin thread that does all the ruffling work for you.  If you have a Brother machine, it's all a cruel lie.  Let's just get that straight at the beginning.

But, here are some of the nice fabrics I got!  Julia chose the butterfly print and the purple heart print, I chose the rest.  Of course!

First, I tried making the dress with the blue fabric, and did it wrong.  The dress was way too small, I had cut the fabric the wrong direction.  Bummer!  So I'll go buy some more and try again.  Once I figured out my problem, I made Julia's dress.

Ta da!

The elastic thread is very weak, and the regular, top thread tends to rip and pull out when Julia puts this on.  But.  It's cute anyway, and I'm going to make a few more, although I might just use regular elastic.

I did not draw a line or use a guide for sewing the waist gathers, so I have ripped it out and will be redoing it, oh joy!  However, this goes quick and I'm going to make another dress for Julia's friend so that they can match!  Matchy, matchy!  Sparkly butterflies to boot!

Mom, are you the Tooth Fairy?

Yesterday, Lucas lost another tooth.

Last night he put it under his pillow.

This morning, he came into my room and said "no luck!"

I hastened to inform him that since I had not taken a photo of him with his tooth, I had asked the Tooth Fairy to wait one more day.

*click*

Tonight, as I kissed Lucas goodnight, he asked me if I was the Tooth Fairy.  I was non-committal, and asked him what he thought.  He discussed how the coupon for his DQ treat was all sparkly and amazing, but that the writing looked like mine.  !!  (I had no idea he could recognize my handwriting!) He didn't press for an answer, but then asked me if he could tell me what he wished for.  Sure!

He whispered, "Mom, I wish for a little extra time with you and Papa or a dollar if that doesn't work.  But first I wish for more time."

It's this kind of thing that just melts my heart!  No matter that we spend every waking hour together, no matter that we sat on the couch today for three subjects, one on one.  No matter that we collected eggs together, unloaded the dishwasher together and folded an origami Challenger and some other space craft as well.  He needs more time.  He values more time.  He would choose time with me and his Papa over money to buy stuff.

I'm off to get the paper and sparkly pen, but maybe Shane can write it this time. =)

The New Parakeet

After begging for a parrot for quite some time, we decided to let Lucas check out some books about parakeets from the library.

From there, we were hoping he'd be discouraged at the amount of work it is to take care of a pet.  Turns out, a mere four hours of play per day is nothing to a kid like Lucas.  He reassured me that he would want to spend at least 10 hours a day with a new bird.  I explained how long 10 hours was and he decided that 8 hours a day would be about right. =)

We wanted a baby bird, and a boy.  This is hard to do, since you can't tell the gender of a bird until it grows up and it's cere (the part around the beak) turns blue or white.  So we took our chances on gender and ordered a 6 week old baby.  Lucas bought his bird with his own money and brought it home on March 11th, my parents anniversary. =)

At first, this little birdy stayed in his cage because he was scared and we needed to figure out what his personality was like.  But soon, he began to eat out of Lucas's hand.  And then Mommy snuck him out of the cage... and he did great!  He is sooooooo friendly!

Notice this really cool cozy nest that Lucas crocheted.  It's his first attempt at a single crochet, first departure from a simple chain.  And the little guy snuggles into it, although at first he would fall out and be hanging by his feet to the bottom.

Now little birdie has found a niche on the bookcase... not a great spot for dropping little presents, so we've draped it with a small blanket.  He likes to sleep up there!

His wings are clipped, which is great for getting acquainted and doing a bit of "step up!" training.  No verbalizations yet, and still no sign if he's a she or what.  We'll just have to wait and see...

Meanwhile, this little guy is stealing all our hearts!

Evenings by the Fire

I looked up from making supper one night and behold!

I rushed for the camera to prove this moment for future disputes.  Yes, you loved spending time together!

 Occasionally, I get shots where the focus so intense.

Then "click!" goes the camera and they smile for me!

The winter evenings are leaving us, you won't be seeing snowmen on sleds behind every photo anymore.  I think we'll change it to something summery.  What should it be?

Soon will come evenings warm enough to sit on a patio we don't have yet.  Soon!

Aidan Turns 5!

Happy Birthday, Aidan!

My littlest baby has now become a handful.

This baby that is five has legs that hang way down when you rock him on your lap.  He thinks he's a big, tough kid and speaks in lawyer talk.  Including asking our brother worker, "Why do people get married?" To which Carl wisely replied, "Give it a few years and then you'll understand what all the fuss is about." These are not the antics of sweet little babies, these are the antics of children growing up!

This year, Aidan wanted a fox cake.  (No one knows why.) Google came to the rescue and a decent fox cake was found for me to copy!

This birthday was pretty relaxed, just some corn dogs, cake and root beer floats.  Christian came over to help us party it up a little.  And Aidan got an army set-up (sorry, Susan, no Marine gear):

Elbow and knee pads with a bike helmet:

And a very special rc car that is little and doesn't have a bottom.  This thing flips over and keeps on going.  And everyone is eager for a turn! So eager, that there are no pictures...

Aidan is happy and healthy and very ready to be five.  He's extremely focused on how cool he is, how brave and strong, how smart and interesting.  Perhaps this year he'll learn about serving others with humility. =)  At least he has plenty of confidence!  We think he's pretty wonderful ourselves, we just need to make sure that head doesn't get too big. ;)

He's a joy and delight!