I'm an Idiot

Decided to bake and bond with the girls yesterday...

Linnea chose The Pioneer Woman's cinnamon rolls...

http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2007/06/cinammon_rolls_/

Great idea.

The problem?

They're amazing,

And,

Tomorrow I'll have to wear a swimsuit in public.

I wish I looked this cute:

Ready or not,

We're heading out for two nights at an indoor waterpark....

I really should have taught them out to make a salad.

Grrr....

Off to zumba with the wii.

I don't even want to guess at how many calories her cinnamon rolls are.

If you know,

please don't tell me.

-julie

Stellar Parenting Moment

"Did I tell you mommy that you sent the needle to school with me?"

"What??!"

"The needle, with the pink thread. Izzy said you were looking for it."

"I was. I got another one and finished fixing your rain jacket."

"It was hanging on my lei Mommy. I didn't think it should be there."

"Did you wear the lei all day at school?"

"For a little bit. Then I saw the needle."

"Did you show anyone?"

"No Mommy. I just took it off and put it in my backpack. I didn't want to get you in trouble."

Phew.

Thanks for covering my back Sofi.

Just thought I'd share.

My kids start Spring break today.

I'm not ready.

House is a disaster....again.

Winter projects aren't done.

Not ready to wear a swim suit for three days at a waterpark.

Not ready for endless sibling spats.

I am ready to let go of a crazy schedule for a week and a half.

I am ready to sit in the water dome with the sun beating on my face.

I am ready to relax in a condo with a hot tub.

I am ready to tackle the girls' room with them.

I am ready for warmer weather....

Maybe?

It's snowing again right now.

Three hours until they're home.

Time to finish a decorating proposal.

Time to visit the dentist for a check-up.

Good thing I worked out this morning and chilled in the steam room.

Sitting in the dentist chair is right up there with funeral flower arrangements.

Ugh.

-Julie

Addictions, Babble and Babes

Meet my new best friend,

She's sleek, speedy, dummy-proof, and doesn't make a mess...

Unless you try to use the k-cup twice.

Yep, I did.

Don't try it.

Don't tell my husband.

It made a mess....

although not as much of a mess as I usually make while making coffee...

She's also the cause of my recent addiction to coffee...

I did purchase some decaf k-cups,

but what fun is that?

I'd much rather be caffeinated.

I'm more productive.

I'm able to deal with these two...

Seven is tough.

They're too little to do some things.

They're too big for others.

They have huge opinions.

They can be bossy.

But they are really cute...

They are having a beach-wear assembly today for good behavior.

Really.

Two days before Spring Break.

Funny, they seem to think they're on Spring Break already.

To say they were excited about finding their flipflops was an understatement.

They spent their allowance at the dollar store.

Grass skirts weren't in yet, so Izzy and I improvised on hers with crepe paper.

Sofi thought it was dumb.

Oh well...her loss.

They did raid my scrapbooking stash for "new" clips.

Do any of you scrapbook anymore??

I used to find such joy in the tiniest of things while making pages....

Now I just don't care about it...and I have lots of stuff collecting dust.

Good thing it can be added to a clip.

My kids will likely head to college with a flash drive of their youth.

It's kind of pathetic,

but practical.

Meanwhile I have boxes of photos from my youth collecting dust in the basement.

Perfect place for photos, right?

One more thing that I haven't dealt with this Winter.

Oh well.

Maybe I should stick it all on a flash drive and be done with it.

-julie

Cleaning Catastrophe

Being gone for five days was great.

Coming back to messes and life, not so much.

I've been playing catch up all week.

After I arrived home from Seattle, I cleaned the fridge.

I dumped several containers of leftovers down the disposal.

Five minutes later, one thing was checked off my list.

Six hours later, I ran the dishwasher.

I cleaned the kitchen.

I put the kids to bed.

I went downstairs to change the laundry.

Something smelled horrific.

The recently routed floor drain was oozing...

with leftovers.

ALL over clean clothes.

Why was there clean clothes on the floor?

Izzy and Sofi had gone through their bins of Spring clothes.

They had a little fashion show in the laundry room...

and didn't put it away like I had asked.

A glass of wine and bucket of bleach later,

I went to bed.

Mark was a trooper...went to the store for draino, helped clear the drain.

Helped me clean the mess.

Sometimes cleaning can be problamatic.

-julie

Where I've Been

It's been 11 days since my last post.

It's been a blur.

I spent 5 days in Seattle playing with these two little people!

Meet my nephew and his new baby sister!

I made a last minute quick trip out there...and am so glad I did.

My baby sister had a c-section.

I've lost a few brain cells since mine 7 years ago.

I was no help in remembering details...

like how long before driving,

or how long before you could pick things up again.

It's all a blur.

Remember having a two year old?

I don't...it's all a blur.

Many days spent in survival mode, moving hour by hour.

The messes.

The laundry.

The tantrums.

The joy.

I came home....

to messes,

laundry,

"tantrums" of sorts,

and joy too.

Some things don't change, no matter how old your kids are!

It was great to be with my baby sister and her family...

and my brother and sister-in-law too.

Being so far away is really really tough.

Thank goodness for email, texts, ichat and easy photo sharing.

I miss these two!

The two hour time change and the daylight savings on top of that has made for a rough transition back to reality....

See you tomorrow,

julie

On My Mind

All the time lately...

Is this space....

Our church fellowship hall.

Pardon the iphone pic.

I'll work on some better ones this weekend!

I know it doesn't look like much, but I've been busy with this project for over a year....

Dreaming,

Fundraising,

Planning,

Ordering,

and making it a reality!

Most of the furniture has arrived within the last two weeks.

The conference table in the back corner and the ugly garbage can are going.

I'm really happy with the choices we've made.

We have fun conversation areas throughout the space...

...two booths

..."a campfire" complete with marshmallow ottomans,

...several sizes of tables

...a toddler wall coming next week

...cafe height tables

Now we're down to the tough stuff.

Choices on a sound system.

Fixed or movable monitors.

Window treatments or blinds or both.

What accessories?

What artwork?

My head is spinning with prices and measurements.

Would love to hear ideas for the windows...there are 10 in the room.

The far focal wall is eggplant.

When we started we had to work with two things-

the chairs around the tables, and the carpet.

I think I'll be blowing up some old old pics for the walls.

We're adding some cool planters too.

Any fun accessory/ wall ideas for a space like this?

Thanks!

julie

Today

Sometimes the quiet of our house from 9-3:30 is deafening.

On other days I embrace it.

Today is one of those days.

My list is long...

Most of it involves restoring order to our home.

The laundry.

The dust.

The odds and ends here and there.

I'm rereading this....

The problem?

I need to throw out more than fifty things. :)

And just picked up these two books at the library...

I know that my seasonal clock interferes with my activity.

I know that my creative side interferes with my ability to focus.

I know that I need to accept both of these facts...

and make cleaning and household chores creative and inspiring.

So...today I'm thinking outside the box.

I'm cranking the tunes (I Gotta Feeling on Pandora)

I'm cleaning like I'm staging my home.

I'm going to make something....

And I'm going to take to heart the wisdom of this bird.

-julie

Today

I'm hanging out down here....

after I get everyone out the door.

after I go to zumba and women on weights,

after I shower,

after I do a quick clean up of the top level.

It's Tuesday after all...

Get it?

T-

Tuesday-

Top Level.

I'm trying so hard to work on this "clean" thing for 2011.

I could clean all day with this crew.

Anyway,

I'm not going to spend the day cleaning.

I'll be in my little paradise,

With my sewing machine...

We have a love/hate relationship.

I love to make things.

I hate to deal with the mechanics of making things.

The bobbin is my worst nightmare.

I've affectionately named my machine "the beast"

I think it needs a tune-up.

The cost of a tune-up is about what I paid for my sewing machine...

so...

it may be time for a new sewing machine.

I'm working on new pillows for the canoe.

They look pretty good here,

but not so much after a long Winter of fort building...

Under the pillows is a trap door.

The fascination of all neighborhood children.

The trap door leads to a 2x2 box to hide in.

Really it was for storing extra blankets and things.

Not anymore! :)

Wish me luck with the beast,

julie