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cooking (25) crafts (10) Fitness (1) gardening (3) Home Organization (10) kids (68) school (9) sewing (28)

Tuesday, April 26, 2011

Family Photo and Audrey's Dress


I made Audrey's dress about a month ago.  On Saturday, I decided that she needed a little hair accessory.  I'm not sure why I even bother, since she just pulls them off.  I made a little headband with some left over brown satin from her dress and elastic.  Then I made little roses with the green fabric and hot glue.  I just ripped strips of the fabric and twisted it into flower shapes, using the hot glue hear and there to keep it in place.

Monday, April 25, 2011

Easter

Audrey was so funny!  She was so excited to find just one egg, and then was even more elated when she found out that it contained candy!  I had a hard time getting her to look for more eggs, which were right in front of her!

Eyeing up the golden egg

"happy happy happy"  


Jack, on the other hand, has this Easter egg hunt thing down!  The pictures of him are blurry because he was running around like a mad man!

Just waking up

Mmmm! Candy before breakfast!

Jack wasn't even awake yet, but he managed to eye up some eggs!

Audrey is 2!


Audrey is into all things "girl."  She loves babies, her baby stroller, her kitchen and shopping cart.  This doll was a gift from Grammie Ann and Grandpa Hans.  She is the same size as Ayden and barely fits in the carrier that I made for Audrey.

Audie loves to dress and undress her baby

Legos from Oma

Whole wheat carrot cake with cream cheese frosting.  Yummy!!
We had a pretty quiet birthday for Audrey, since our family is all so far away and her birthday fell on Easter this year.  We had cake and opened presents on Friday since Saturday and Sunday were such busy days.

Zoobie from Becky and Tom.  She loves this hippo, and likes to sleep with it.

Happy Kids


Having a sister that works in retail has perks!  Becky sent these Ralph Lauren outfits.  This dress is just beautiful.  It is a basic dress, much like the dresses that I make, but the fabric is amazing!

Ayden smiles!


This is our new stroller.  This is a Baby Jogger City Select.  It is great!  The seats flip around and both recline all the way back.  The basket underneath is huge, and you can actually get things in and out of it! I bought it to make traveling to PA easier, plus it's getting too hot here already to "wear" Ayden in the sling.  And believe it or not, this stroller folds up so compactly, that it fits in the trunk of my cobalt, AND I am still able to fit groceries in the trunk!


Since Bryan is working nights, this is what the kids and I do in the morning.  It's great to get out and get a little exercise before it gets too hot.

Saturday, April 23, 2011

40 Bags - Where I Ended Up

Seeing that tomorrow is Easter, I guess my clock has expired on my challenge.  So where did I end up?  I can tell you that I ended up with an organized and clean/clutter free home.  But I did not quite make it to 40  bags.  By my very rough calculations, I cleaned out 32 bags.  Much of this was estimated because I used various sized bags, boxes, and whatever else I could find.  The most recent area that I cleaned was Jack's room.  He and I cleared out some more toys and quite a few books.  We love books, but we go to the library every week so we don't need a plethora here.  Plus, Jack had so many books that you couldn't find the really good ones that the kids like to read.  I gathered up a box of books to take to the church yard sale. I also boxed up books that Jack has "grown out of" but Audrey and Ayden aren't ready for yet.  The easy readers and such.  I think Audrey has outgrown her need to tear books apart.  She went through a phase where she torn pages out of books. She even managed to tear apart some board books!!!

I also went back into the shed and threw out a garbage bag of old paint.  The only area that I have not reinvestigated is the attic.  Actually, I have never been in our attic, but Bryan told me that the previous owners left some stuff up there.  I would like to go through that stuff before the church yard sale in hopes of finding some good stuff for the church.

I hope that this has inspired some other people to declutter their lives.  I find that I can almost breathe easier with less stuff in our home.  I am going to stick to my rule that every time something new comes into the house, something old has to go out.  I am also vowing not to buy any new clothes for myself this year!  My difficulty with clearing out a mere 40 bags makes me wonder how people "live with less."  One of my friends blogged last year about "living with 100 things." Take a look around your home, can you imagine living with only 100 things???  I know that it could be done, but can you imagine???

Wednesday, April 20, 2011

Kids

This one doesn't really need words.  I just love his expression!


The first step in potty training. . . Don't fear the potty!  She has embraced this awesome folding potty.  Now to get her to use it. . .



Jack and his friends spent Monday and Tuesday playing in the sandbox.  They caught this little guy and made him a home.  I think they even caught spiders to feed him. 


This is Audrey's favorite toy.  She runs everywhere with it.  It's like she's an old woman with a walker. . . on speed :o)  She chases Jack around with it and comes out of her bedroom every morning with it.


We are still getting gifts for Ayden from friends and family.  He received this romper and pink hippo from my sister today and the bunny rabbit with his name embroidered on the ear from a friend today.  He is starting to smile, but of course I can't catch that on film!  He also rolled over today from his belly to his back twice!  Good news. . . he's growing up!  Bad news. . . I can't just sit him somewhere and expect him to be there when I get back.

I also have pictures of Jack dying eggs with his friends, but they are on my other camera.  And I have a youtube video of Jack and Audie that is uploading.  Hopefully it will be done uploading tomorrow and I can add that link.  Right now it is late and I need to hit the sack!



Tuesday, April 19, 2011

Two Small Projects


I made another taggie gift for a friend.  I liked the idea of a letter for a taggie, but the letter by itself seemed a little small.  This time, I made a mini quilt and sewed a letter on top.  I really like the way it turned out.  I think I will also add a couple linky rings to one of the tags.



This is the invite for my sister's shower.  The verbage was totally "stolen" from online searches, but the crafting was a Krohn original.  I love the kitchen brads that I found in our local scrapbook store.  No two invites were alike, as I had many different brads and two different paper color schemes.


And being the corn ball that I am, I added my "stamp" to the back. 

Monday, April 18, 2011

Don't Pray for Patience and Other Thoughts

It's just been one of those days.  On the whole, we had a great day, but with three kids I guess you are apt to have "moments."  Audrey threw her dinner on the floor and asserted her independence once or twice today.  Ayden was inconsolable more than once today.  And Jack is just six.  There are just times when he tests my patience.  My girlfriend told me today "never pray for patience because God will just keep testing it." I love that.  Well, I don't love that God pushes me to my limits, but I love that thought, and so true.  He only gives us what we can handle though (if we use Him for our strength).  So I was sitting here slightly seething and dreaming of driving down the road for a daiquiri.  I got into the car and was going to make a phone call but decided to listen to the radio instead.  I listen to K-Love, and I found myself refreshed and recharged just by signing for 20 minutes, and it wasn't the music that brought me out for a drive, but it ended up being my salvation.  Oh, and as a bonus I came home with an adult dessert :o)

Thoughts on discipline.  I know this is a sensitive subject, but I believe that there are times that children need to be disciplined.  A couple weeks ago, Jack was having an all out fit and I sat there praying for patience (seriously, I was) now I know that that was a mistake, see above.  But, to make a very long story (and fit) short, he drove me to my limit and I ended up reacting in a not so adult way.  I told my girlfriend about this (a different friend then above) and she told me that this happens to her occasionally and it tells her that she should have spanked her children earlier.  I have never thought about spanking in this light, but it really makes sense.  If I spank/discipline my children before the situation escalates, then I am much more controlled and rational and it keeps them from acting out for that extended period of time.  All is good now, BTW, and I apologized to Jack for acting the way I did.

Wednesday, April 13, 2011

Kiddos

I would like to say that I haven't posted anything to the blog in a week because we haven't done anything, but if you read my other post, you'd know that isn't exactly true.  I guess we just haven't done anything spectacular.  I have been crafting, feeding the kids, and trying to keep the house clean.  Besides Audrey's gifts, I also made 38 invitations for my sister's bridal shower.  I'll take a picture and upload that "soon" and I also made a curtain for a girlfriend.  I'll take a picture of it when I put it up in her home. 
 So what exciting things have the kids done?
Ayden found his thumb!
He, like his mom, loves the sun.  He was sitting in the garage, soaking up the sun and relaxing as I was pricing items for the garage sale.



Audrey acted the part of a true lady.  She has got to be the messiest eater!  I'm not quite sure what she was eating here.  I think it was yogurt. But this is how most meals end.  She smears the food everywhere--especially her hair!






                                                        
This is her "mean face." She's quite the gangster.

Audrey's Birthday Presents

Audrey will be two on Easter! It's a good thing I am actually ahead of the game for once!
Audrey's dress made - check!
Easter Baskets for the three kids made - check!
eggs stuffed for easter egg hunt at home - check!
Garbage bag of eggs stuffed for association egg hunt with four prize baskets and treat bags - check!
Eggs for church egg hunt - check!

Now hopefully the last need-to-do for a while. . . Audrey's birthday present.

So what do you get for the little girl who has everything?  She already has many dolls and a stoller and a kitchen and grocery cart.  Then it occured to me to make her accessories for her dolls.  One of the many blogs that I follow made this neat set of baby doll items, so I loosely followed her projects.

First I made a bassinett 

this went together so quickly that I decided to make more stuff!











Then I made a changing pad, wipes,  and 6 diapers.  

But these accessories didn't really go with a bassinett, so I decided to make a diaper bag.

The diaper bag looks so amazing!  I am thinking about making purses for myself since my skills are improving.




Outside of the diaper bag with a pocket for a bottle

All set up to change baby's diaper


I can't wait to give these to Audrey!  I think she's going to get a lot out of them!

Best of all. . . this project cost me nothing, as I had all of the supplies on hand.  And it only took me two days to complete!

Thanks again, mom!  I love sewing!  






* On the down side, though, the more I sew, the more I want a new sewing machine.  Luckily, they all look like crap to me.  I want something heavy duty that isn't going to crap out on me in a year.

Sunday, April 3, 2011

Cutie Pie


With all of the house blogs lately, I figured that some of you might prefer to see a picture or two of the kids.   Here is Ayden in his bathing glory.  His facial expressions are similar to Audrey's at this age.  Both of them are/ were so serious at this age.  

Unlike Audrey though, Ayden (so far) doesn't cry when he takes a bath.  Audrey just screamed at this age. Ayden just looks at you like this.


Speaking of serious, check out Bryan's expression!  I don't know what's funnier, Ayden's perplexed look or Bryan's very concentrated look.


Ahh, all bundled up.  I think he was happier in the water.  He is definitely a Krohn.  That seriousness is a Krohn feature.

26 Bags Lighter

It is hard for me to take pictures that show how decluttered the house has become, but here is our bedroom, which functions as an office, homeschool central, and nursery in addition to our bedroom.
  
Our "office" and nursery

I have two drawers in this dresser, Bryan has one.  The top is the home to all of our homeschool supplies.  The rocking chair is a family heirloom and is the most comfortable chair in the world.  Unfortunately, the boards in the seat have separated and I am afraid to fix it myself.  Anyone know how to fix an antique???  This wall was covered with yard sale and donation bags!   
My dresser and Homeschool Central


My side of the closet
This is about a third of the closet.  Bryan has the rest of the closet.  The shelf above my clothes is even empty!!  All of my shoes are in a shoe bag on the closet door.

 And the pantry!  I have spent about 3 days on this little space!  I kept moving things around as I found other things to put in or take out of the pantry.  Why do we have gallon jugs?  Because we live in a hurricane prone area.  This way we can bottle our own water when we get a storm warning.  If we lose power or we at least have water.
A relatively clean kitchen with just the right amount of stuff on the counters!

Friday, April 1, 2011

A Quiet Week

Sorry for the lack of posts this week.  We haven't done much as the kids (and I) can't go full steam all the time.  Well, we did go to the zoo for about an hour and a half on Tuesday.  We couldn't stay long, as I had to go grocery shopping and was hosting dinner and a board meeting.  On Wednesday, we had a play date at a girl friend's house.  She has this amazing place down on the bayou.  I should have taken pictures, with all the rain she literally is living in the swamp!  Then she and her kids came over today and played at the playground and rode bikes in our neighborhood.

What's that you say???  That's not down time?  Oh, well then, I'm not quite sure what down time is!

Jack has really needed the quiet time.  He has been very weepy and emotional lately.  I am hoping that the quiet time helps with this.  We've even made "school" easier.  I've taken a break from the regimented curriculum and have allowed him to pick and choose worksheets to complete.  I've been making sure that he is covering areas that he needs a little work on, but overall he has covered about 97% of the first grade curriculum.

And what have I been doing this week?  I have been making invitations for my sister's bridal shower and I cleaned out the pantry.  Cleaning out the pantry added one more bag to my 40 bag challenge.  I now have 23 bags.  Now this has really become a challenge.  How do you really get rid of 40 bags???  I feel like I have purged my house and am now searching for things that I don't need.  Ok, that would be easy because I don't NEED much of this stuff.  I am now searching for things I am willing to give up.

Anyone out there want to help me out?  What would you give up?  Do you think you could get 40 bags?  40 bags is much more than I initially anticipated.  I thought this would be easy!