Trenches

Over the last few months I've discovered something.  I am so much better at reading blogs than updating my own.  Oh well.

Over the last few months, we've had birthdays, made quilts, had fabulous weather (gotta love San Diego where we only know what season it is by the day on the calendar), and...oh yea, we're building a house.

So, the latter (along with motherhood in general) is a bit time-consuming.  The month of March we graded (yippee!).  Ok, so my Brother-in-law's excavation crew, my other brother-in-law and my husband did all the work.  I made lunches half the time and ran some errands in between.  The funniest errand was when my husband called and needed help while I was on my way to a Stake Primary meeting.  I walked in, played the opening song, walked out, drove home, took all the seats out of the van, drove to Costco, bought a generator (still in a skirt and high heals, mind you), drove it out to the lot, came home, put the kids to bed.  I'm sure those Costco guys see everything though.

April and May were spent finalizing our stuff for our building permit (The County wants to know EVERYTHING!!!) which we got Monday (huge HOORAY!), growing hydroseed on our cut slopes, and also lining up subcontractors, getting materials bids, and other fun stuff like that.

But last week, I feel like we started.  Check out these trenches! (sorry, I tried 3 times to get it the right way, the trees are at the top).  You can also see our hydroseed up on the hill.

 

It is so cool to see the outline of the house (this is where the foundation goes for those novices like me).   The trenches are all dug for underground plumbing too (hence all the little mounds in the middle of the pad)...which has since been finished.  By the end of the week we will have footings, hooray!

 

The funny thing is that the house doesn't look so big with just the outline dug out.   Maybe it's the fact that there are no buildings around to compare it to.  I keep reminding myself that the width of this house is more than our entire lot in Colorado.  I'm sure once it's framed and in 3-D, it will be huge ('cause it is!).

Every time I go up to the lot, I get so excited.  This is OUR spot!  There are so many amazing things about this property.  When we went up Sunday, we came home with a huge bag of avocados, oranges, and guavas.  These are from trees we haven't even watered!  Jeff also found a patch of wild raspberries down by the stream.  We each had a taste.  I can't wait for them to be ripe.

After footings and flat concrete...framing.  I think that's what I'm the most excited for--to see the walls just how they are going to be.

Other notweorthy things this week is that Hazel started walking!  14 months is about right ;)

 

 

Though she still prefers to crawl and use her "walker."  

 

You can't blame her too much, but she does love to stand up (after making sure we notice) and clap as we cheer her on for being a big girl.  Oh, how do these little ones grow so fast.

Upcoming family events include a 3-year old birthday, Braces and a new Violin teacher for Sarah, and (hopefully!) more sewing projects.  Here's to better blogging!

The craziest 2 months of my life!

So, I've been a bit under the radar this last bit...Here's my recap of our crazy end of summer.


End of August:
Landlord is crazy.  He's threatening us.  We don't feel safe.  We have to move.  Tomorrow.  Stay up and pack until 2 a.m., maybe get 1 or 2 hours of sleep...living off adrenaline.
In the morning:  Load 2 26-foot Penske trucks in 2 1/2 hours (thank you awesome ward!)
Leave that afternoon for Utah.  Arrive 1:30 a.m. (thanks Jared!)
Sleep well for the first time in weeks.
Next day:  Unload stuff into Brother-in-law's garage (thanks Joe!).
Day after that:  Take Jeff to the airport for him to continue working in Denver (so hard!).

2 weeks later:
San Diego job is coming through (whew!)
Meet Jeff (who is driving a Penske for his brother) in Cove Fort, UT to drive to San Diego.
Next day:  Arrive in San Diego, help unload 2 26-foot Penske trucks for Brother and Sister-in law
Next 3 days:  Look at rental houses in San Diego.  On 3rd day, find the perfect one--it's still available, Hooray!  I fly back to Utah, Jeff flies to Denver.

1.5 weeks later:
Got the Job in San Diego.
Load stuff from Brother-in-law's garage into 2 26-foot Penske trucks (do we see a theme here?).  (Thank you family!)
Next day:  Drive to San Diego!  (thanks Mom and Dad!)  Arrive just in time to unload a few mattresses and find some sheets.  Sleep well
Day after that:  Unload the trucks and get moved in!

The next week:  Unpack and get organized.  Unpack so there are no boxes in sight.  We're sick of living out of boxes!

Since then:  Family is back together, loving San Diego weather (currently 85 degrees!), using cloth diapers again, school in full-swing, visited the beach twice, started sewing a little bit again, finding my way around, terribly missing Colorado friends, emotionally recovering from the drama.

Next step:  Build a house.  After these last few months, it shouldn't be too hard, right?

A New Twist

The last few weeks have been busy.  Packing up, moving into the rental, closing on the house, etc.  We got it all done just over a week ago and we were just starting to breathe a sigh of relief.  We still didn't have an absolute plan (or a job) for San Diego, but we felt like things were OK and that we would live in this Colorado rental house, eat up our food storage and try to relax a little.

Until last night...it's funny how plans can change in an instant.

At about 7:30 last night, two Realtors came to the door offering "assistance" to those whose homes were about to be foreclosed.  Through the conversation, we soon found out that this rental we are living in has been in foreclosure proceedings for almost a year and a half and is scheduled to be sold at auction on August 17th.  Great.

We talked to our landlord asking him what was going on.  Of course, he is trying to "work it out."  Whatever that means.

Meanwhile, we feel like we need to move and be gone before August 17th.  This last week, Jeff has had some good job contacts for San Diego.  After praying and thinking much last night, we have determined to move straight to San Diego just as soon as we can.  Jeff booked a flight to find us a good (non-foreclosure) home to rent and I begin packing today.

Our big hope is that Jeff is able to get a job quickly.  Splitting up our family has never been something we have ever wanted to do, but we feel like circumstances may dictate a few weeks of him flying back to Denver to work until a job comes through.

We feel pretty confident that all will work out.  Maybe this is just the big "leap of faith" we need to take.

Wish us luck (and keep us in your prayers too!)

Better this week

This last week has been an emotional roller-coaster.  With our house going on contract,  my biggest worry:  Where are we going to live!?  Since we are hoping to relocate down to San Diego sooner rather than later, we wanted to find a rental that wouldn't lock us in.  Hmm...easier said than done.  I probably called or e-mailed at least 50 people asking i f they were willing to do a short-term lease.  Almost everyone said, "no way" and some people were downright mean about it.  I was just asking.

We did find a 4 bedroom apartment.  Seriously though, 5 kids in an apartment for who knows how long?  And it wasn't exactly inexpensive either.  We would have to sign a year's contract, then pay $2,000 to break the lease, but it was the best we could find!  Then add on storage for all our stuff, and if I wasn't able to sell my piano, that was a big worry too.

Enter Craigslist.  I put an add on Craigslist asking for a 3-4 bedroom home with a short-term lease.  I got 1 or 2 replies offering a sublet room (thanks, but that won't exactly work), then a guy e-mailed me with an offer of a 3 bedroom 2200 square-foot house, basically agreeing to month-to-month rent only $100 more than the apartment.  It wasn't exactly in the area we were looking at.  It's farther in Aurora, and I was a little worried.  Aurora can be really spotty, there are great areas, and really scary areas.  But I figured it was worth a look.

The house is about 40 years old and has 3 enormous bedrooms with a big family room and living room.  The kitchen is an OK size and was updated about 1 1/2 years ago.  The tub is the lovely 60s orange color and I think there is still some original wallpaper on the walls.  But, it's on a full acre and the homes around it are amazing with the yards immaculately kept and big, mature trees!  This house could be pretty amazing too with some TLC and a big bucket of $, I have a feeling that it's the bucket of $ that's lacking.  A friend of ours told us that Mike Coffman, our US Representative used to live right in that area.  As I walked through the house, I kept asking myself, "Can I live here?"  I'm not buying it, I'm not even decorating it (as my brain has been in the decorating mode lately).  The answer was yes, I can live there.  The flexibility is worth a lot. 

So, as fun as an apartment might be, this situation is better.  We can take my piano and other furniture (if they don't sell), the kids will have tons of room to play, I will have room to baste quilts (providing there's time for sewing....I sure hope so, I'm going through withdrawls!), and we can shove all our stuff in the garage and basement.

So, life is better.  I haven't broken into tears for about 2 days now.  Feeling homeless is not a happy thing.   I just hope we can move before winter as the house faces North (ugh, a pain for shoveling the driveway!) and we probably won't have a garage to park in, as it's full of "stuff."

So, as long as the house really sells, we're in good shape.  Here's hoping for a job.

(Oh, and this week I was linked on a fun "quilty blog," Pleasant Home.  It was like a small moment of "fame!")

Be careful what you wish for...

So as if a new baby didn't keep me busy enough, over the last several months we have been getting our house ready to sell.  With the help of a friend, my fabulous husband, and wonderful kids...it looks gorgeous!!

We put it on the market on Friday the 17th and had our first walk-through the next Wednesday.

So, the old adage, "be careful what you wish for, it might come true."  Yah, that's us.  We had an offer in our hand... in the amount of high sales in our neighborhood, Sunday night.  Of course we accepted it.  They want to close July 18.  Wow.

We are trying to relocate to San Diego and thought the house would be the slow part.  No, it's the job.  We "had" a job in February whenever we wanted it, but thanks to Congress, the current administration, and the welfare state, defense spending was cut and the job is "on hold."

We feel so blessed, it is almost surreal, but life just turned into a total whirlwind.  My biggest question right now is, where do we live?  We're not ready to abandon Colorado as we do HAVE a job here, but do we rent for 1 month, 6 months, 3 years?  I have no idea.

We felt so strongly to put our house on the market when we did that I know the Lord has a plan for us...I just wish I had the outline.

Anyone want to buy a piano, it's a good one, and it's for sale!

(why it posted sideways, I really don't know and I don't have time to figure it out.  It stands right-side-up in real life)

Nesting List

I'm a list-maker...I don't always get it all done, but I always have high hopes.

There's a bunch of things I want to make for the baby that have been swimming around in my head. I guess it's time to get them "written" down.

1. Nursery Decor
Bumper Pads and Crib Sheet finished Feb. 5, 2011
Dust Ruffle finished Feb. 23, 2011
Storage Boxes finished March 28, 2011
2. Quilt from leftover Nursery fabric (though I might decide to do this pattern)
Crib-Size Quilt finished April 13, 2011
3. Chenille Blanket
finished April 5, 2011
4. Diaper Pail Liners
finished March 31, 2011
5. Flannel tie blanket
finished April 6, 2011
6. Crochet-edge receiving blanket
7. Every-day crochet hat
8. Birth Announcements
9. Thank-You Cards
10. Blessing day bonnet and booties (though I can't decide between these or these--thoughts?)
Bonnet finished Feb. 23, 2011
11. New SweetPod and Saddle Bag

I may add or subtract over time...It doesn't seem SO daunting! I'll try to post photos as I finish and will add links on this master list.

Wish me luck!

Wanted: New camera

I really have liked my camera. I got it for Christmas of 08 and it has been great to start me out on my digital camera experience. We got a great bargain, $99 with the Christmas sales. I figured it would last me until I was able to afford a DSLR camera. I didn't realize until Saturday what a deal we got!

Because on Saturday, a child dropped it...while the lens was out...and it fell right on the lens...making it, well...broken. But, said child immediately told the truth about it and that is always the most important thing.

So, we're back to using film and borrowing Sarah's OK camera for the time being.

The question is though...do I go for another cheap point and shoot (which wouldn't be as good as the camera I had) or try to squeeze the budget for a starter DSLR (which isn't quite the camera I was hoping to eventually get)? The only problem being that we are trying to make a lot of things happen in our family right now and $ is a huge issue...

I would love to hear any reviews you have about the camera you love and advice you have to give!

Meanwhile, I'm sending my camera into Canon for a free evaluation on repair costs (I'm not very optimistic). While it's there, I'll wait and maybe catch an amazing Black Friday deal. If I could buy my camera again for $100, I'd do it in a heartbeat. Maybe the camera faeries will be good to me again this year.

Things that make me happy today

I'm trying to not TOTALLY disappear from blogland...I thought I would just share a few things that made me happy today.


This apple grew on our tree in our backyard! Isn't it perfect! I had to snap a photo before I cut it up, dipped it in caramel and ate it (all by myself...shhhh, don't tell the kids!).

Next, I found this tutorial for the cutest, easiest Halloween treat bags ever! Even if you don't sew, you could so make these. It's making me wish Halloween wasn't on a Sunday this year!

And...I finished a project today. It seems I finish things too few and far between these days. It felt so good to see it all done! But, I don't feel like I could show it off (yet) though as it's a gift and I think the person I'm giving it to may be one of the 3 people who read this blog. So, if you've had a birthday within the last year or so, it may be for you :) It is way to cool not to show off though, So I will be blogging about it hopefully very soon. When I do, that means that it made it to the person it is intended for.

So, happy Saturday and Sunday for all of you out there!

June and July

June was a hard month. Hard physically at times, emotionally at other times. But looking back on it, June wasn't all hard. Some good things happened too.

So now it's July, and time for a "new start." A new start for counting blessings and remembering happy days. Like today! 11 years ago today I married my best friend. It is neat to see how that friendship has only grown stronger. We've been through a bit, but we're not done yet!

Family of Twelve

Almost as long as I can remember, I've wanted 10 kids. My mom used to just smile when I told her that. Now I'm starting to feel my biological clock timing out. At this point I will fill absolutely blessed to have just as many as we can.

This last week I got my wish...for 5 days! We watched Jeff's brother's kids while he and his wife went to DC for an "outing." They have 7 kiddos, but took the baby with them. So with our four and their six, we had 10 kids! It was life like it would be if we would have had 3 sets of twins and my youngest two 11 months apart.

The best part of it was...I enjoyed every minute! I know, some of you may question this. I was at the grocery store one night and ran into a gal in my ward, we were talking at the checkout and when I mentioned we had 10 kids under the age of 10 at home, I think the checker just about passed out. But really, I never once counted the days left or the hours until bedtime. It was great! The only issues I had were (of course) with my own children.

We did a lot of fun things. The best part was (and this is the teacher in me) NO SCHOOL! Hooray! We did crafts in the morning and went to the park a couple of times (when it wasn't snowing), and even braved the crowded streets of Denver to go on our Homeschool group field trip to the Molly Brown House. (Jeff helped me with that one, there just weren't enough seat belts). We also watched a movie every day, since movies are rare at both our houses, the kids thought it was a treat. The rest of the time the kids just played and enjoyed each other.

My favorite part of each day was the 30 minutes of personal reading. The first day, I walked into the family room to see this:


Noah read to Samuel every day. I loved it.

Mealtimes were a little crazy,


But with help like this, prep and cleanup were a snap!


I do have to say though, that the fabulous experience was made possible by my amazing sister-in-law. Her kids were so helpful, obedient, happy, never fought (seriously!), ate all their food, went to bed on time, and even the not-quite-two-year-old was as patient as could be. She is doing an amazing job raising her kids. I've said for several years now that I want to be like her when I grow up. Now I want to even more :)

I think through the week, I learned to be a better mom. I learned to be more slow to anger (you think twice about blowing up when other kids are around!), how to delegate, and how to focus more on my prayers (I knew I needed extra help!). I hope I can remember all these things and try to be more organized in every area of life!

On a crafty note...I even got a few scrap pages done, a skirt finished, and a baby quilt started. Woo Hoo!

By midnight Saturday when the extra kids were reclaimed, I felt like I had accomplished a lot and had a wonderful week!

The hardest part? Setting the table for lunch on Sunday with only 5 spots...it seemed a little empty.

Letters

Last week my friend, Olivia, did a post about letters. At the end she asked which letters we would write. As I was cleaning my kitchen today, I got to thinking...

Dear Crafty Bloggers,

Why do you have to be so creative? Ok, I won't blame it all on YOU, half of it is all those other crafty blogs you link to. One or two of these ideas is enough to send me to my sewing machine or scrap table, but you soon get very inspirational-overwhelming! I wonder though, do you ever clean, cook, fold laundry, or help your kids with schoolwork or piano practice? With all you get done and post on your blogs, sometimes I wonder!

Sincerely,
Have the ideas, lack the time


Dear Children,

Is it too much to ask to PLEASE eat your food, do your schoolwork, clean your room, make your bed, fold the laundry, practice your music, pick up after yourself and stay on track without having to be reminded 50 million times?

Sincerey,
The Broken Record a.k.a. Mom


Dear Old Navy,

Why, oh WHY did you close your store closest to me!?!?!? I know, I know, it's because Southlands was charging too much rent, but is that any reason to make me drive to a part of town I rarely go to? I won't visit your store nearly as much... or maybe I will anyway. I am still very sad.

Sincerely,
Clearance rack shopper


I'll end with the same one Olivia did:

Dear blog readers,

What letters would you write?

Love,
Me.

Christmas---2 weeks later

I'm one of those ones that believe many Christmas presents should be handmade. I think it just puts a little more "love" into it.

We made a lot of things this Christmas. I told our girls that gifts they gave would have to be made themselves or bought with their own money. They really came through. We made stuff for cousins, grandparents, uncles, aunts, everyone! Things like doll blankets, scarfs, tree ornaments, rice bags, and more! Unfortunately, I didn't take photos of most of it. I was kind of centered on the stuff I made, and helping them get their stuff finished and wrapped. But here's some of the things that kept us busy in the days (and hours!) leading up to Christmas.

The #1 thing on the girls' lists were beds for their Vision Forum Dolls (like American Girl). Jeff came through. He made their beds (out of cherry!) and I did the bedding. They turned out great and the girls REALLY love them.

They can even stack as bunks!

For Each of the kids, I made something for them.

Sarah got a robe. I admit I was intimidated by this project, but it was easier than I thought it would be!

Christmas morning!

I made David a cute taggie blanget. Can I just say I love the internet! I found this great tutorial
and I was able to whip this thing up. The hardest part? Deciding which ribbons to use!

David loves it. He has his favorite ribbons, of course, but he will chew and chew for a long time!

Eliza put in a request months ago for a hooded towel--a purple one. I had some super cute rick-rack I got on clearance forever ago so she got her wish!

You can see by the smile she is excited about it.

I'm finding sewing for boys is a little more tricky. Christmas comes in handy when there are "needs." New pajamas for Samuel was a need. His favorite things right now are dinosaurs and Toy Story. Great!

The mere fact I can't wash them fast enough proves to me they were a hit!

For my dad, I tried something I've never really done--framing. Jeff got me a mat cutter years ago and we've used it just a little. When the USPS came out with their Star Wars stamps a while back, I thought of my dad (he and I are big Star Wars fans) and our trips to the Old Post Office Pavilion in DC. A very cool place where we used to go and by old stamp sets that had been framed. So I thought I would give it a go.

I must admit it was a little tougher than I thought, but I think the overall project looks nice. I'm just glad Dad put it up a little higher so the flaws are hidden.


And, here's my wonderful Grandma with her husband, Bill. They were married a couple years ago and they are such an inspiration to me! I made them matching scarfs for the cold Utah winter (though they are spending the entire month of January in warmer St. George, I'm so glad!). I thought they turned out pretty cute.


So, now that Christmas is over, time to move on to other things. I've got a couple scrapbook exchanges to crank out pages for, and some cloth (yes mom, cloth) diapers to sew for curiosity's sake, thanks to my talented friend Jessica who gave me some of her half-finished ones so that I could try them out. Oh, and some New Year's resolutions to work on...one of which is to organize this mess:



I can report, that after taking these photos, it's looking a little better :)