Happy birthday daddy man!

just wanted the world to know that it's daddy-mans birthday in 16 minutes. he will be 30 years old. Hope that this isn't a shock to your system like it was to mine!

love you !!!!

pirate ships and castles

We have been so blessed these past few years. Daddy Man has been going to school full time and while he has been in school, we have been living in the Campus Mobile Home Park. The place is getting set to close in 2011 (thankfully we should be out and in the real world this coming spring). In the mean time, people are slowly trickling out and the old trailers are being left empty. There has been a company moving them out and it has been quite an experience. Our front yard has been getting bigger and bigger. Daddy Man Pulled over the back porch of our neighbors so the boys could climb on it. A couple of days later the guy in charge of tearing down the trailers had his workers bring over a matching porch(how thoughtful was that?). Well Daddy Man and I got uber creative and made the Boys a fort. I know, the board in the middle doesn't look too steady, but it can hold daddy man, not to mention Monkey and I dueling with light sabers. We had so much fun building it and have so many more ideas to do, we just need a little more time. And how about all that reusing? How green are we? Now Daddy Man just need a job locally so we can take it with us. It now gets used more than the swing set ever does.

so here is a list of a few of the projects that are in the process of getting done

I am etching some monograms on some glass vases for the center pieces for my cute friends wedding. I have found a program for my cricut called Sure Cuts A Lot and I totally love it. It enables me to cut out basically any true type font I have on my computer(not to mention dingbats, and A Ton of different picts I find on the web). I have been having so much fun with this program!

Another project I've been working on is stuff for Monkey's birthday party. He is turning 4 in a couple of weeks and we are going to have a knight party. I am going to be making tunics for all the kids and we are going to make swords. I will be posting a pict when I get them done.

There is still the old couch I found. Right now it's sitting in the yard peeling. The main problen is that the way I want to change it doesn't match with my current decor. So if I bring that in, I will have to paint, and get a new rug, change out pictures, etc. And we plan on moving in the spring so I am not going to waste the money on a house that is just getting torn down in the summer.

The case of the missing friendship bread

So I am a bit worried. have you ever been given Amish friendship bread? A friend of mine had a while ago and I actually kept it alive to 2 whole recipe cycles. It was almost time to make it again when I realized that I could find it. I just figured that Daddy man may have thrown it away(which would have been o.k., give it time and I will get another) but when I asked if he had, the answer was no. uh-oh. I have looked EVERYWHERE. I just can't find it. This scares me a little, no one wants a bread start running wild.
Oh and if you ever get a start and the recipe calls for vanilla pudding, put butterscotch pudding in it instead. Super yummy!

such a liar

So earlier I said that I wouldn't clean my house until school started. Yeah, that didn't last. We went up camping for a couple of days at Tony's Grove(the most beautiful place on this earth) and decided to bring back half the forest. Once I started to clean up, I couldn't stop. I guess that's one goal that is probably good that I didn't keep.

The desire to create

Last year, Dieter F. Uchtdorf Second Counselor in the First Presidency of the Church Of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints gave a beautiful talk http://lds.org/ldsorg/v/index.jsp?hideNav=1&locale=0&sourceId=15674bb52a73d110VgnVCM100000176f620a____&vgnextoid=2354fccf2b7db010VgnVCM1000004d82620aRCRD about Happiness. In it he said that "The desire to create is one of the deepest yearnings of the human soul" I totally fell in love with that quote. It totally explains my life. I don't have talent oozing out of my pores. But I do love to try. The bag in the picture is my first attempt at applique. I finished it last night and am pretty excited. The Internet has been a great help to my creative process (but not to the pocket book). There are so many talented people out there, and so many are willing to help with there little tutorials.

So I dare you to read President Uchdorf's talk, feel inspired and go make this world a more beautiful place.

1 week 'till a clean house!

The house is a disaster. There I said it. Z-dog and Daddy-man start school in 1 week and Monkey starts in 2. I have giving up on cleaning until then. I feel that if I am able to keep the smells to a minimum and Baby Bear has a clean place to play, then the boy's room and the computer room can remain messy.
Then bring on the deep cleaning! I remember back when it was just Z-dog and I and it seemed hard to clean with just one child. Now I am looking forward to cleaning with just one child. The 3 wound up little boys have been dragging toys around, bringing in leaves from the yard and Monkey's various collections(Rocks, Bottle caps, sticks) are hiding everywhere.
I am so excited for everyone to go back to school. Please don't think I am a mean mom. I really do miss them when they are gone, I just love to see them grow and develop. (and I do admit, it is a lot easier to get jobs around the house) They are all in great schools and learn so much. Plus Daddy-man graduates this year!

sad. sad days

Some days are awesome, some are boring, some rock, then again there are days that stink. A couple of days ago I had one bummer of a day. First I was working on my Cricut. (yeah for Cricuts!) I ordered a new program for my computer that enables it to cut out any true-type font and dingbat that I can find and put on my computer. (how awesome is that?) super fun!!! Well, I was working on yet another project, heck I was almost done (can you believe it?) I had to put it on the floor so that I could hook it up to my computer. Z-dog came in to give me a little present, then preceded to back out (Really? backwards?) he tripped over my Cricut and busted off the top. Sad. But I am proud to say that there was no blood shed or emotional scarring done to the 6 year old. It still kinda worked, I could still get it to cut out stuff. The Cricut may not look pretty, the screen hangs crooked, but it worked. (a little foreshadowing here?)

Well, The next day I wanted to start another project, but guess what, It was a no-go. The little machine just doesn't have it in it to cut. poor thing.

So, I moved on to another project. I wanted to finish sewing a little cover for feeding the baby. I was almost done when the machine broke. Not the needle, the under part. So sad. I finished the cover though and am pretty proud of it.

I do have hope that my mom may be able to help fix the machine. (yeah for Mommies!) And If the Cricut is officially out of order, maybe one day I may be able to get a new one (It's Bigger! It's better! It's 30% shinier)