It's done!

Here's the finished product:

More room pics

The are the logos that I used for my sketches.  Although, the Benny Beaver one is really orange, not red!

You can get an idea of what this is going to look like.  Still a lot of detail work to do, but it's coming along!

The finished product!

I can't stop!  I keep saying I'm done for the night, but then I go back up and do more.  I LOVE the way the OS came out!  His ceiling/wall thing is REALLY bumpy, so it's not a super smooth line, but it still looks great (IMO!).

My latest project

A couple weeks ago we (I) decided to switch all the kids' rooms around.  We (I) feel the need to do this every year or so.  We decided to put the older girls in Conners room with the bunk beds (thus the stitches) and the little girls in Ann-Elise and Caile's old room.  That left Conner with the "little" room over the garage.  Because it has super crazy walls/ceilings, it's hard to find a way to organize and decorate it.

A little history needed.

When I went to the hospital to deliver Adrie, my good friend Julie spearheaded a project to surprise me when I got home.  She and a few of our friends totally painted and decorated the room over the garage complete with flower and bug murals.  It was sooo cute and so it has stayed this way for over 3 1/2 years.  As hard as it's been to come to terms with, Conner just COULDN'T live in a room with pink, yellow and purple walls, not to mention the pretty flowers.  I just wasn't going to do that do him.  So, part of the plan was that AS SOON as we got the rooms switched I'd paint and decorate it for him.

After school last Thursday, I took him down to the paint shop and had him pick out a color.  Any color that he wanted.  As long as it was tan or grey or taupe or tan... I wanted a very neutral color.  I've fallen for the "any color you want" trap and ended up with a fuschia room that is STILL haunting me!  Anyway, he picked out "mushroom taupe".  It's a good color, a little on the dark side, but I liked it.  So, last Friday I spent the day painting.  I HATE PAINTING!  But by then I had an idea.  Conner LOVES the OSU Beavers.  He is his father's son!  So I thought we could accent and decorate with the gorgeous colors of black and orange.  I also thought that I could paint a mural on the walls of the OSU logo and the Benny Beaver logo.

I spent about an hour in Alia's classroom yesterday with their projector.  I'll just add right now that I LOVE her teacher!  Anyway, I blew up some logo's and sketched them onto larger paper.  Last night Mike and I went to Office Depot (they suck, btw) and picked up some old fashioned transfer paper.  I copied my blown up sketches onto his wall last night and just started the painting today.  Oh My Gosh!  I love it!!!

Enough already, here's the pics of what I have so far.  I'll post more pics as I finish, hopefully tomorrow.

Oh, and don't let there be any doubt about the lengths I go to for my kids!  This has been a pain.  But, I think in the end, it's gonna totally be worth it!

You have to look really close, but you can see the outline of the Benny Beaver pic

Far away of the Oregon State Logo, half done

Closer of the Oregon State logo

On a side note, Conner played in his first basketball game (ever) today.  His team won 37-25 or something like that.  He played about half of each quarter.  It's been very hard for him.  He's used to being good as a sport and this is definitely a challenge for him.  But he had a great time and it was very exciting watching his TEAM play.  Way to go Huskies!

WARNING*** Pictures****

Here a "clean" picture of Ann-Elise's "ouchie".

Don't say I didn't warn you!

All because of Idol

My kids LOVE American Idol.  I mean, who doesn't?  Mike had a church meeting last night, so I let the kids stay up for an extra half hour to watch half of the show last night.  Needless to say, they were a tad hyper when they were sent to bed.  Not to mention NOT happy about having to go to bed!  As we were listening to the girls yell and scream, I was getting ready to go tell them to be quiet because the babies were sleeping, and Mike was just saying how "he" would not let them stay up the extra half hour because they NEVER go to bed after that, Alia screams that Ann-Elise fell and has a huge bleeding hole in her knee.

Mike is out the door and on the floor with Leise in the blink of an eye.  I hang back for a sec and grab a cloth to cover the wound.  Get in there and take a look.  GROSS!  It wasn't huge, but probably about 1/2 inch wide.  A slice on her shin (not knee, guess we need to cover anatomy with Alia!).  It looked like it had been sliced, but it was gaping with tissue popping out in the middle.  Now, this is where you can thank me for my lack of brain waves because I DID take pictures on my cell phone, but apparently, I didn't save them after taking them and now I can't find them.  Otherwise, you'd be looking at pictures too.  So, you'll just have to use your imagination instead!

After trying some butterfly stitches (didn't work) and just wrapping it with a big gauze pad, and much deliberation, I made the decision that it needed stitches and I was taking her in.  Mike loaded her in the car and we headed to the nearest emergency room.  Of course, the urgent care had closed  at 8, so we missed that one and we're off to the hospital.  We got there at 9:46 and we were able to get right in.  

After the screaming from the injection (oh man, there has GOT to be a better way than that!) she did great!  6 stitches and we were home by 11:30.  Now, I must say that I think the reason she agreed to even go to the hospital and get the stitches was because I told her she wouldn't have to go to school today if she had stitches.

Even though it was an eventful night, I am glad that I insisted on taking her in and am so grateful for the wonderful staff at our local hospital.  They were great and I feel so blessed to live somewhere that is so close to great hospitals!

Oh, and when I clean it out tonight, I'll take some pics.  Something to look forward to!

Sometimes thing just DON'T go as planned

Mike and I had a "romantic" getaway planned.  OK, really we just wanted to get away from life for a couple days.

Now, let me start by pointing out that finding places for 5 kids to go for a full weekend is not nearly as easy as it may seem.  Conner was pretty easy.  We have amazing neighbors (who just happen to have a son a little older than Conner, (who he just loves to play with) who quickly volunteered to take him.  I set up someone to take Conner to church Sunday morning (as much as Conner didn't like that idea) and he was set.

Alia was a little more difficult.  She wanted to go to her good friend Jessyca's house.  I called and left a message.  However, I never heard back from her parents so I made other plans for her.  Mike talked with Jessyca's parents when he saw them and apparently, their phone hadn't been working, so they never got the message, but they'd be happy to take her.  So, I had to cancel the other place I had set up for her.

Next was Ann-Elise.  She wanted to go to her friend Janey's house.  I asked her mom and it was all set up.  Then I got a call last week letting me know that Janey's grandma was in the hospital in Utah.  They weren't sure what was going on, but it didn't look good.  Janey's mom was going to drive down there with her sister and make sure all was well, so she wasn't going to be able to take Ann-Elise.  Now, I have NO problem with that one!  Of course I wanted her to go.  Now I need to find another place for Ann-Elise to go.  OK, I can do this...

As for the babies.  UGH!  I had originally  asked my parents to watch the little girls.  My mom told me that my dad had been having some medical problems and she would probably be gone on Monday, so she didn't feel super comfortable with that.  I told her to let me know if she was for sure going to be gone on Monday, and if so, I'd make other arrangements.  About a week later, I was chatting (on Facebook) with my sister-in-law, Martina, and asked her if she was available in case my mom couldn't take the girls.  She jumped at the chance to take them and demanded that I let her have them.  They don't get to visit over there very often, but always love it when they do, so I let me parents know that I wouldn't need them.  However, Martina let me know that they were going to the mountain on Saturday morning, so they would have to get that girls after that.  Could she pick them up from my parents and then keep them for the weekend?  I'm sure I ruffled quite a few feathers trying to set that up!  But I was able to get it done.

Ok, back to Ann-Elise, now I have no where for her to go.  I call up my mom and ask if Ann-Elise could come over to her place for the weekend.  Seeing as how she didn't need a "baby sitter" on Monday when my mom was gone, I thought it might work.  Yep, my mom needed her to get some stuff ready for Ann-Elise's baptism anyway, so they could just do it over the weekend.

PHEW.  I think we're set...

Then comes the call.  Jessyca's dad calls to tell me that their septic tank is totally out.  They can put NOTHING down their drain.  He tells me that they have been showering at grandparents homes and catching and boiling water for dishes.  Ummm, where do you go to the bathroom.  Oh, they have a portapotty.  Perfect.  She can pretend she's camping.  She'll get over it!  It's a go (oh and they should have their septic back up and running today, fingers crossed!)

So, on Saturday, I shipped Conner out around 1:00 and Mike takes Alia out to Jessyca's for her "adventure".  I jump online to double check the confirmation for the hotel.  Guess what?  NOT THERE.  NOPE.  NOTHING.  WTHECK???  We have no reservation.  Upon further investigation, there is NOTHING available throughout Oregon or Washington either.  Needless to say, I spent about 3 hours in tears.  SOOOOO typical of me.  Really.  This is the kind of stuff that just sends me over the edge, but something that I tend to do often.

Well, as soon as Mike got back I told him, but we decided to ship out the rest of the kids anyway.  I got a call from Martina and they were almost home.  I told her that we would just wait and bring the girls out to her.  We drove out to Mike's work in Hillsboro and picked up his cell phone (that he forgot at work!) and then took Ann-Elise to my parents.  Then we headed to Martina's.  It was really nice to not have anywhere to be and so we stayed and visited for a while.  

We stopped in Canby and ate dinner and then headed home.  We spent the evening reading and playing Mario Kart.  I love Mario Kart!  On Sunday, we spent the day in bed.  Literally!  We woke up around 7:30 and I stayed in my robe until about 4!  I did finally shower...  I finished the 6th book in a series I've been reading and Mike knocked out half of Breaking Dawn (700+ pages!).  Oh, we also watched both football games.  That was fun.  No kids, no where to be.  I could get used to this.  The funny thing was that Conner was right next door and spent most of the day outside playing football with his buddies, so I was able to watch him through the window with him not even knowing we were there.  I was kind enough to let the parents know that we were there, in case they noticed movement in the house.  I didn't want the police called!

Really, the only "glitch" we had was when we got a call on Sunday morning saying that he had gone down to get his ride to church.  After knocking on the door and ringing the doorbell for 5 minutes, and no one answering, he came back to Jarod's.  Should they send him down again and have him try again?  I just told them not to worry about it.  He'd tried and that was all I asked.  I'm sure his ride just forgot about him...

On Monday, we were lazy for a few hours, and then made the rounds to pick up all the kiddo's.  

Ya know.  It was nothing like we had planned, but it was amazing.  My husband is the best and I love knowing that we don't have to do anything special, but just being together is enough to make a memorable time.  And the lesson learned today, class, is to double check your reservations well in ADVANCE!!!

oh how time flies!

I have totally been in a zone. Unfortunately, it hasn't been in a "clean the house" mode. So, what have I been doing, you ask? Well...

I've been making beanie caps for my niece and nephews. It's been so fun. I've knit them before, but I've never crocheted them before. I spend way too much time finding some cool patterns and then I've been a crochet machine!

Here are the 5 hats that I've made (since yesterday morning!)

This is actually for Adrie.  Oops, it's a little big!

This is for my 10 yo nephew

This is for the Oregon State Beaver's fan!

For the little princess (my niece)

And we can't forget the L.A. Laker's fan!

If this is important to you...

The following is my sisters blog entry for today. I felt it was just easier to just cut and paste hers than try to articulate the same thing. If you feel this is something you would like to support, please click on the link at the bottom and sign your name and send an email to your senators.

Thanks!

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 7, 2009

Please read & sign...
I'm really getting scared. I have been hearing about the lead testing for a few days now & the more I read, the more concerned I'm getting. This is beyond ridiculous. Yes, I'm all for my kids being safe. I'm all for making sure there is no lead in the toys I'm buying for my children. But seriously, now they're going to ultimately shut down & STOP ALL used children's clothing?! SERIOUSLY?! With the economy the way it is right now esp. WHO can honestly afford to buy new clothes every month or so? Since the manufacturers are going to have to do testing, obviously, prices are going to go up for everyone. Personally, I LOVE shopping at the consignment & thrift stores. I have gotten some GREAT deals. I love being able to take my children's gently used & too small clothes & "trading" them for something that will fit. They grow so fast, this has been a wonderful blessing.

I can't imagine just throwing all of these clothes away. Hokey Dina (thanks for that phrase Coffee) this is scary & ridiculous!!!

Ok, I'm getting off my soap box before I really say something I shouldn't. Here is a petition that talks more about the new law & if you go to the bottom, you can add your name to it. I honestly don't know if it will do any good at this point, but I like to think we have voices that WILL be heard... before it's too late! Here's the comment my sis left when she signed the petition, I love it. Wed., Jan. 7, 2009 11:40 AM link Becki L. | Hubbard, OR

"Isn't it just like our government to, in the face of a national financial crisis, add even more of a burden on everyday people? At some point, we're going to govern ourselves out of a profitable society. Oh wait. I think that is already happening."


Here is the petition. ***CLICKY*** Here is an article in our local news today about it (& where I got the petition link). ***click***

POSTED BY BRYNN AT 9:44 AM

Sometimes...

So, I was chatting with my sister this morning. I was telling her about all the crazy things that had happened already (at 8:45) with the 2 little girls. ie: Caile's attempts at potty training (not going well) and the fact that the girls decided to be "pirates" while I was loading the dishwasher.

What exactly does being a pirate entail you ask? Well let me tell you. Adrie and Caile got ahold of a teal Crayola marker (NOT washable) and decided to color themselves EVERYWHERE with it. Did you know that pirates are teal? Me either! Anyway, to make it even more convenient for them, they decided to strip down naked before the art session began. They had teal marker EVERYWHERE. I don't need to say more about that! Anyway, I put them in the tub and started the water. I ran out of the room to grab a couple towels. When I got back into the bathroom the water was seriously the color of berry blue Jell-o. No joke! I drained the tub and tried again. And again. It took 3 fills before the water was *almost* clear. And we scrubbed and scrubbed and scrubbed. Guess what? There is a reason they sell WASHABLE markers. Apparently it's for little girls who want to play Pirate, because the regular ones DO NOT come off! Anyway I did the best I could and called it at that. I don't even want to know what Adrie's teacher thought when she got to school today!

So as I was informing my sister about the fun we had had she asked what I did. Well, I told her that I just told the girls that markers are for paper, not for their bodies. End of story. I wasn't worried about it. It washes off (eventually). She was kind of amazing at my "whatever" attitude. I told her that on Sunday, as I was driving to church at 8am in a huge fog bank and thinking back to where we were the Sunday before (in sunny Arizona) I wanted to go down the "If I lived there, life would be so much better. I'd be so much happier..." and I stopped myself and decided right then and there, at the corner of Boones Ferry Road and Country Club Road, sitting in my Suburban, that I had nothing to complain about. I need to be happy right where I am. I am very blessed and I need to appreciate all the blessing that I have.

I had the best day at church. I felt so good and I was happy. Everyone seemed to act better. I don't know if I just didn't really pay attention to how awful the kids were being in sacrament, or if they actually were better, but I sure had a great day. Little things that would usually set me off were actually kind of fun. It totally changed my day.

As the week has progressed I've found it much easier to keep that attitude. I have really enjoyed spending time with my family and actually enjoying my kids, instead of getting angry or upset, I've just laughed with them.

Anyway, as I was chatting with my sister, in a very condensed version, I told her how I was just going to be happy with where I am. Not worry about the "what ifs" and the "if only"s. I was going to be happy where I am. Right now. Today.

So, to make my story even longer, she decided to blog about our conversation today. It was a really sweet post and I got teary just reading it. Anyway, I checked back later and read the comments that had been made to her blog and am so touched that something that was just mentioned in passing has had such an influence on her and her friends. What a small world. For just a few minutes I felt that I had maybe made a difference in someone's life.

Thanks so much for sharing, Pony!

If you want to check out her blog it's www.momentsofmajicandmayhem.blogspot.com

She likes to move it, move it

Adrie and Caile LOVE to sing to the song "I like to move it, move it" from Madagascar.  While we were driving to Ontario from Yuma last week, the song came on the radio.  This is them singing "along". They both start about 2 seconds after the singer, so it's just hilarious to listen and watch them!

My Christmas gift

I totally forgot to mention that Mike bought me a new Flip video camera for Christmas.  Of course, he got to the store right as they closed on Christmas Eve, therefore, I had to wait to get it until The day AFTER Christmas.  But that just made the surprise all the better!  Here's the reaction of the kids when I brought it back to Grandma and Grandpa's in Yuma.  To put some of the comments into context, their uncle Mike had just left the day before with his Flip camera that looked just like my new one, so they were a little confused about it at first.  I think Adrie's comments are so funny because she's trying to ask me if Uncle Mike left his at the house.  Too cute!