My Creative Side

I have never felt like a creative person until I started to knit. I love knitting and this year I decided to incorporate some of my knitting into Christmas gifts.  I wanted to share some photos of what I've done this year.

This is a wine bottle cozy that I made for my SIL Angie

I made soap this year and had a lot of fun with that. I was making soap non-stop for a week or two. I also knit a bath poof (well, actually 2) and really like the way it turned out.

Here is a closer pic of the bath poof

I didn't make this, but I got bedding from my parents for Christmas and just love it!  I am now looking for a bed frame so it'll look even better.

Gonna try something new

I'm starting to get frustrated with blogging because I feel like I have a whole ton of stuff to write about and I either push it aside and never blog about it, or I take a week just to write the post. So, I think I'm going to attempt to blog much more frequently without worrying about the length and if it has pictures or not. Let me know what you think.

Court

Crazy Winter Stuff

**This post was started over a week ago so the timing seems funny. I feel I should be showing Christmas pics and stuff, but I still wanted to get this finished**

Wow, it has been a week of crazy weather.  We woke last Sunday to some snow on the ground and Nolan excitedly shouting "it's snowing, it's snowing!!". The kids were quick to bundle up and go play in the back yard. 

showing a little bit of love

catching snowflakes on his tongue

sliding in the snow

Monday when Nolan had school he was disappointed because I think he just thought it would be cool to not have school on a school day. After school we went shopping and Sophie immediately wanted to go see Santa. Nolan told her they weren't allowed to see Santa without having their lists, so they couldn't go that day.  I knew that wasn't going to work, so we took them to Nordstroms where they could sit at a table and color and they wrote their Santa lists on the back of their color sheets. Nolan asked Santa for an Imaginext Batman Batcave and Sophie asked Santa for a Dollhouse and a mirror. She is so funny, she loves all things girly and found a mirror you could decorate with gems that day so she added it to her list. 

showing their lists to Santa

On Wednesday there was so much talk of awful weather and freezing rain that school was closed. We actually saw no snow. This time Nolan was disappointed school was cancelled because he always goes to his friend Benjamin's house after school on Wednesdays.  He was still invited over though, so he played there all day, which is so nice.  

Friday night we went out to my parent's house in Washougal.  They had quite a bit of snow so we ended up playing in the snow at 9:00 at night.  We had quite a bit of fun and built our first snowman. 

check out my snowball!

Sophie and her measuring cup

Our first snowman!

Surprisingly the kids actually got my mom and I out playing and we had a great time.

Nolan's snow angel

On Saturday we had a bunch of snow again and I had to work again.  I cut my shift short because we only have one car with chains and Poy needed to work a full day. I'm pretty sure the kids had been asking about playing in the snow and Poy told them to wait for mom, cause as soon as I walked in the door they wanted to go outside and play.  We had fun playing some made up games and having some races.  I even pushed the kids in the recycling bin down the driveway :) Unfortunately Poy had the camera, so no pics of that fun.  We tried to make a snowman again, Sophie even found the carrots, but we couldn't make a snowball to save our lives.  The snow was so powdery it just fell apart.  

Sunday, Poy went to work and I instantly felt the cabin fever.  I don't mind staying home, but when I have stuff to do it makes me crazy.  I decided to take the kids for a little (insert incredibly long) walk to Fred Meyer. I thought maybe I could get something done, but in the end all we walked out with was the little toys I bribed the kids with for agreeing to the walk. I can't believe how much snow is out there and it's iced over on top so it's difficult for little feet to traverse.   

The beginning of our long walk

Sophie catching snowflakes on her tongue

Nolan showing off his missing teeth. The one on his right he had lost that day.

Sophie showing off her (not)missing teeth.

Nolan loved picking up big ice chunks. For some reason it drove me crazy.

The Misadventures of Sophie Juliet and her mother's not so smart moment

Today we went to Burgerville for lunch.  Nolan was at school so it was Sophie, Poy and I.  She likes to eat in the area by the bathrooms because they have a toy box there.  So, we sit down to eat and she immediately says "I gotta go potty". In my head I say "of coarse you do".  Anyway, Sophie has always been very independent when it comes to going to the bathroom in public.  Of coarse I would never let her go into a bathroom that I didn't have full supervision of who was coming or going, but it was a one person bathroom right by our table.  I opened the door and let her in and she locked the door.  She struggled a bit locking it, but she did it non the less. She was singing and having a grand old time in there and then it was time to get out.  She pulled on the door and I reminded her she needs to unlock it.  She tries... it doesn't work... she tries again... doesn't work.  Poy gets out of his chair and of coarse he says "I knew this was going to happen" "WHAT!!" if he knew it was going to happen, couldn't he have mentioned that?  Anyway, we attempt all kinds of things to open the door. At this point 3-4 Burgerville employees are trying to figure out how to help.  Sophie is crying and saying "I can't get out, I don't want to be here anymore"  All I can think is how I can get her not to panic.  She was upset, but I know her and if she went into panic mode, there would be no way to get her to do anything. She kept saying "Mommy, can you just help me? Mommy, can you unlock it?"  She had given up on the lock for a minute or so, then you could tell she was trying, but it was just a touch too high for her.  I had asked her if there was a stool, but there wasn't.  I asked her if she could stand on anything, but she couldn't figure out on her own what I meant.  Finally, I asked the employee if there was a garbage can she could stand on.  She said "yes, tell her to take the lid off the little garbage can."  I calmed her down and asked her to find the little garbage, take the lid off, flip it over and put it next to the door.  She did it and escaped without us having to break down the door.  This wasn't my finest moment... I felt pretty dumb.  So, I guess Sophie will not be going potty on her own until I know for sure that she can get out on her own.

First trip to the ER

Last night we were going through our normal bedtime routine when things took a bit of a turn. After the kids brush their teeth they like to race to Nolan's room, where we then read books. Our newest change to this is that whom ever loses the race then races mommy... so they can win :)  So, Sophie and I were racing and she fell, which of coarse happens a lot to 3 year olds, but this time she hit her head right on the sharp corner of Nolan's bed.  My first thought was that it was her eye.  I don't know why, but I have this fear that one of my kids will lose an eye, so I was a little freaked.  

I picked her up and ran downstairs as blood is rushing down her face. I will admit, I was pretty much in a complete and total panic. I called Poy, who was the Blazer game and told him what was going on.  I immediately thought she would need stitches.  I decided to go on the safe side and I took her to the ER.  It was pretty quick getting into the room, but waiting for the nurse and then the doctor was quite awhile.  She did not end up having stitches (yay!), they were able to put on a steri-strip and glue her back together.  I was amazed at her attitude throughout the whole process. When we were in the kids waiting area, her and Nolan were playing and she tells me "I like it here."  Then we were taken to triage and she had her blood pressure and temp taken.  She looks over at me and grins "mommy, this is fun :)" she whispers.  She did so good when the nurse and doctor came in. When she had to have it cleaned out and the glue applied, she was such a brave girl and didn't move at all. I was so proud of her :) 

We spent a lovely 3 hours and 45 minutes at the Hospital and got to bed right around 1 am.  It wasn't what I had expected of my evening, but I will say I was happy that the kids had a positive ER  experience and of coarse I'm thankful that she didn't lose an eye.  Here are the lovely photos. 

This is in the waiting room. It really doesn't look that bad in the photo, but I didn't want her to ask me in 10 years why I scarred her for life.

They had to wrap her head in order to keep the numbing medicine on it.  She looks a little uncomfortable in this picture, but she actually had just been holding her smile too long and I caught the photo a little late. She was actually drawing a turkey and playing with stickers.

This is what she looks like now.  I think they did a great job cleaning her up. 

Tumbling Birthday Party with another video

We went to our niece, Gabby's 4th Birthday party today. It was at a Gym in Portland and the kids had lots of fun. I did some more video and actually edited it this time. So, here it is. I hope you like it.

Sophie and my tumbling dilemma

I feel like I have 14 things to blog about so apparently, I just don't blog 'cause I can't decide which to post about.  Anyway, I just wanted to post a little video of Sophie at tumbling class. She just LOVES her class and I enjoy it a lot too.  She is currently in Parent-Tot which is supposed to be where they are until they are 3 1/2. At the end of the last session her instructor came and told me that Sophie is ready for the Pre-school class. I was completely torn because I really enjoy being down on the floor with her.  She does most of the stuff on her own, hence the not needing me there anymore, but once I put her in that next class she will never be in a parent-tot class again.  I will be up in the parent balcony watching from afar.  I just wasn't ready to give it up.  At this moment I think I just realized that once I give up this class with her, I am having to admit to myself that my baby is growing up.  I am literally about to cry as I type.  Anyway, our session is over next week and I will have to make that decision.  For now, here is a fun little video

She is being a bit of a show off in the video... she actually can do cartwheels pretty well, but she apparently thinks it's fun to fall over when she is being recorded.

Vote For Barack Obama!!!

I am feeling very political this election and have become quite addicted to CNN.  I am excited to have a President that I like and am proud of.  Both of my kids are even excited about Barack Obama. Sophie sees him on TV and shouts with glee "Barack Obama Mommy!! Look Mommy, it's Barack Obama!!"  A while back I was putting Obama stickers on my back car window and Sophie said she wanted the sticker on her window instead of the back.  Nolan then made me move the other sticker to his window so he could have a Obama sticker too.  

I am encouraging you to vote for Barack Obama too.  Please don't assume that he will win our state and think you don't need to vote.  This is such an important election and for our children's futures we really need Obama to win.  So get out there and 

VOTE FOR BARACK OBAMA!!!

Fabulous Savings at Walgreens

Last night I spent 2 hours planning my Walgreens scenarios.  Walgreens seems to offer $5/$20 or $10/$40 and stuff like that every Friday & Saturday.  The bummer part for me is those are the 2 days I work and when I get off Poy is working.  It seems like a waste to save $5 and then turn around and pay my sitter $8.  Sometimes I try to shop before work, so today I woke up 30 minutes early to shop.  I was very disappointed that I couldn't find what I needed for my first scenario and I lost a lot of time wandering the store.  I did get a return done, but other than that I walked out with nothing.  I was disappointed, but decided to get to Walgreens after work with the kids and try to get some good deals.

Although shopping with my kids is always a bit hectic they did pretty well.  So here's what I got:

**Warning: this has a lot of boring math stuff in it.  If you want you can read the top and the bottom then decide if you want to know all my scenarios :)**

Scenario #1:

3 Boxes of Benefiber Kiwi Strawberry drink mixes   

Regular price: 7.99/box   23.97 for 3

There was a walmart coupon for $5 off each box for a $15 savings

Total= 8.97 (but we're not done with this one)

1 Airwick Fresmatic Ultra Automatic spray

Regular price: 12.99 on sale for 4.99

I used a $4 off coupon

Total=1.99 (we're not done here either)

1 St. Ives Elements Olive Cleanser

Regular price 7.49 on sale 4.99

I used a $2 off coupon

Total=2.99 (not done)

1 Nivea Mens Bodywash

Total=4.99

1 Quilted Northern toilet paper

Regular price: 5.29 on sale for $4

Use a Wgs coupon for $1 and a manufacturers coupon for $1

Total=$2

Total out of pocket for all items: 20.94-$5 off $20 coupon=15.94+tax

I used a gift card for 14.48 from previous rebates and 4.48 out of pocket

At the end of the transaction I received one $8 Register Reward (like cash on next transaction) from the 3 packs of Benefiber (making it .97!!) 

and one $5 Register Reward for the St. Ives making this a money maker of 2.01!

We aren't done yet :)

I will receive a $3 rebate for the Airwick making this a $1.01 money maker!

lastly I will receive a $4.99 rebate for the Nivea bodywash making this free after rebate.

In the end this transaction was a $5.05 moneymaker!

Scenario #2

4 Capri Sun (Nolan has these in his lunch every day)

Regular price 3.79 each on sale 4 for $10

Total=$10

2 Glade Flameless Candle

Regular price 9.99 each

Used a Buy 1 Get 1 coupon

Total=9.99

2 packs of dividers for my coupon book (I just needed these)

Total=1.98

Total for these items: $21.97-$5 off $20 coupon=16.97

I used 2 $5 Register Rewards for a total out of pocket=6.97+tax

I will receive a $2 rebate for the Flameless Candle making it 7.99 for 2

and I received a $3 Register Reward for the Capri Sun making them 4/$7 or 1.75 each

In the end this transaction was $1.97

Scenario #3

1 Loreal Facial Cleanser

Regular price: 6.99

I used a $1 in store coupon

Total=5.99

1 St. Ives Elements Olive Scrub

Regular price 7.49 on sale for 4.99

I used a coupon for $2 & a $2 store coupon

Total=.99

1 Rimmel Foundation

Total= 7.49

1 Post-it notes

Total= .89

1 Pencil Pouch for my coupon binder

Total= 1.99

1 Kid Knex (this was a total splurge for the kids cause they always fight over the knex so I told Sophie I would buy her her own set)

Total= 9.99

Total for these items: 27.34-$5/$20 coupon=22.34

I used the $3 Register Reward from scenario #2 and

the $8 Register Reward from scenario #1 making this a total OOP of 11.34

I received a $5 Register Reward for the St. Ives making this a $4.01 money maker!

I will receive a 6.99 rebate for the Loreal Cleanser making this a $1 money maker

Lastly, I will receive a 7.49 rebate for the Foundation making this item Free

In the end this transaction was an $8.14 money maker

This was by far my best walgreens trip so far.  I bought $121.93 worth of merchandise for a total of 27.39 out of my pocket & I will receive 26.91 on a gift card.  Fabulous!  This totally takes care of any shopping fix I need :)

Pumpkins!!

Yesterday we made a trip to the Vancouver Farmers Market.  We picked up some Honey Crisp apples and Sophie picked out some blueberries.  I told her we had to wash them before she could eat them, but she just wouldn't let me put them in the trunk.  She had to hold them in her lap even if she couldn't eat them.  The kids enjoyed the playground and then we made our way to the Pumpkin Patch on Sauvie Island.  

    

We had a fabulous time in the corn maze. The kids did a fantastic job and had so much fun.  The weather was absolutely perfect.  In the maze they have check points and you read a question to decide which direction to go.  There are lots of different topic cards to choose from with many different skill levels.  Nolan chose to answer the "Halloween" questions, and Sophie did the "Preschool" questions.  

Sophie on the bridge
Nolan & Daddy exploring the maze

Check out that action shot!
Check point 3
Reading the question

Mommy and her kiddos

After the maze we checked out the animals, which weren't too exciting and then made our way to the pumpkin patch.  All of the pumpkins in the patch were really big and most were smashed or broken open. We opted for the pre-picked pumpkins that were smaller and more attractive.  Sophie really wanted a small pumpkin and she was pretty cute carrying it back to the car.

"If you can't carry it, you can't pick it"
"Let me try"
I think we'll take a couple of these instead.

The sign says it all

Tonight we carved pumpkins.  Actually I carved pumpkins.  The kids drew the faces, but both of them thought the insides were disgusting and refused to touch it.  I put Nolan's hand in it, and he literally started gagging!  He is so sensitive. Anyway, the end result were some cute little jack-o-lanterns.

Sophie with her pumpkin before it was cut.

Nolan's pumpkin with his fabulous drawing

Sophie is picking the guts out with a fork!

Sophie watching mommy cut Nolan's pumpkin

The end result!

My latest cleaning project

I've decided that when it comes to cleaning I really prefer a big project.  I like the satisfaction of seeing the end result.  Lately Tuesdays have been a great day for me to conquer a big mess.  This Tuesday I decided to completely reorganize my pantry.  In the 4 years we have lived here I have never done this. It had some (and I mean that loosely) order, but there was a lot of stuff in there that just didn't belong.  I am delighted at how it looks now.  I moved the cereal and snacks to the lower shelves so that the kids can get to them on their own.  My cans are all facing the same direction :).  One funny thing was that a couple months ago I bought a can of corn starch to make the kids flubber.  When I got it home I realized I already had corn starch.  When I cleaned out the pantry I actually found 3 more boxes of corn starch!!  I guess I should google "recipes with corn starch" so I can get rid of the stuff :)  I wish I could have had some before shots, but Poy had the camera.  Here are some of the after pictures.   

Top shelf -- bulk stuff, paper products, cleaning supplies

2nd shelf -- boxed foods, baking in the corner, bottles of oils, vinegars and stuff

mid shelf -- bread and cans

4th shelf -- snacks, cookies

more 4th shelf -- syrup, peanut butter, foil & baggies

bottom shelf -- cereal, drinks, bagged snacks.

The floor is now clear except for cat food and bags.

I feel great when I open my pantry. I'm still not used to it so when I open the door I have this moment where I think it is going to be a disaster and then I'm pleasantly surprised.  I threw away so much stuff that had been unused for so long.  

Although I do have other stuff to blog about, it is late and I'm tired, so I'm gonna have to do those in the next couple of days.

A visit with friends and a step in the right direction.

Sophie and I made a trip out to Beaverton today to visit my friend Andrea and her 2 year old Nora.  Nora and Sophie played so well together today and gave their mommy's plenty of time to chit chat and we even got a little bit of knitting done.

After picking up Nolan from school the kids had swim lessons.  

This was Sophie's first lesson and I was a bit nervous.   Sophie used to love water and pretty much has no fears.  When we went on our cruise in April she changed her tune.  On our first day of the cruise, actually just a couple hours into the trip, we decided to put our suits on and visit the pool.  The kids were thrilled and couldn't wait to play.  We met up with our friends and were sitting on our lounge chairs watching the kids and visiting with each other. This is what the kids area looked like

We were sitting in lounge chairs a little further then the chairs in the lower right corner of the picture.  The kids were playing, the water is only about a foot deep and everything seemed so safe. All of the sudden I noticed I could see Nolan but not Sophie.  It is not in my nature to panic so I was just scanning the area and looking for her.  

I finally spotted her clear across the "pool" about where the H2O Zone sign is. I start to make my way quickly over there and Anne-Elissa books it through the water. When she got there Sophie was soaking wet.  Not like I've been playing in water wet, but I've gone under water wet. It turns out there was a pool 4 or 5 ft deep where she was at.  When Anne-Elissa handed a very upset Sophie to me and her tummy hit my shoulder a ton of water shot out of her mouth.  I will never know what exactly happened that day.  I don't know if she fell in and was pulled out by someone, or if she fell in and happened to be on the ladder and pulled herself out.  I am convinced I could have easily lost my daughter that day and it changed her view of water completely.  The remainder of the trip she wouldn't go in the pool or the ocean at the beach.  She would totally freak out.  

Today was the first time I have been able to get Sophie into a pool and she went willingly and happily. I am so relieved it won't take years for her to get over this incident.  I still feel guilty about that day, and think about what a tragedy it could have been.  I don't like to dwell on things that happened, or could have happened in the past, but that one is a tough one to forget.

I wish I could post some pictures of today, but sadly my camera is now broken :(  I don't know what happened to it, but the screen is cracked and shows nothing but white light.  I can still take photos, but there is no way to know if the photo is good until it is on the computer.  Just another thing to add to my "wants" list.  

I love Naartjie!!

My favorite store for Sophie's clothing is called Naartjie (pronounced Nar-chee) at Washington Square. They were having a sale on dresses on Sunday, so we made our way out there.  I just love how fun the colors and patterns are in their clothes. One reason they are my favorite is that Sophie loves to wear dresses, but that isn't always feasible during the cooler months.  Naartjie has pants that match every dress so she can wear dresses whenever she wants. I just love it!  Here are her 3 new outfits as she modeled them today.

When Sophie first saw a similar outfit in this color, she pointed out that it was for boys.  Once I showed her the dress and she tried it on, she liked it.  It is definitely outside her normal realm of colors.

  

The sleeves and pants are actually striped, and the top portion is knit. 

  

I LOVE the colors of this outfit. The details are great too.