And the Fun Keeps Coming

It rained all day Saturday and Gracie absolutely refused to go outside.  I bought her a new bed and we've been letting her sleep in our bedroom.  As soon as I climbed into bed on Saturday night and got Gracie settled, she peed all over her new bed (a day's worth, I'd say).  Ugh...then, she pooped in the floor Sunday morning while I was cleaning up the pee from the carpet the night before.  Hey, at least I had the carpet cleaner ready to go.  The stomach virus apparently hit Caden Sunday afternoon.  He threw up on the couch in the basement and then went upstair and threw up all over the carpet in his room.  Puke is one thing I don't do well and this was PB&J and strawberries....ewwww.  Again, the carpet cleaner was still handy.  I have him home from school today with a stomach ache, but no more nausea.  I continue to pick dead looking baby lice out of Jaelyn's hair.  And it snowed again yesterday.  It was raining too so nothing stuck, but I was shocked to look out and see big snow flakes mixed with the rain.  Please let us be done with all of it!!!!

What a Week!

This was a hard week.  It started with the snow, which honestly, in and of itself isn't a big deal, but it's March and my birthday.  I'm sick of winter.  I was also feeling out of sorts on Tuesday.  Wednesday, I felt really off, like I had a hole in my stomach.  THEN, I spotted a bug moving in Jaelyn's hair during school.  You know where this is going, right?  Ugh, Lice.  I admit freely that I freaked.  Dan hadn't left for work yet; so he stayed home to try to chill me out and to help with vacuuming and laundry.  I bought enough lice shampoo to treat me, Jaelyn and Allie.  We've done lice checks everyday since Wednesday, and so far, I'm still only finding what I hope are dead eggs or teeny tiny non-moving brown dots that look like just hatched lice.  Ewwwwww!  I only found a couple of the non-moving brown dots in Allie's hair.  I'm re-treating all of us next Wednesday.  In addition to the 20 or so loads of laundry from everyone's towels and bedding (because it's still winter and beds are piled high with blankets) and clothes, I also bagged about 6 bags of stuffed animals and pillows I didn't want to wash.  For years, I've been trying to convince my kids they can wear their clothes more than once.  Just recently, Jaelyn has taken that to the extreme by stuffing ALL of her dirty clothes back into her dresser (all the drawers).  I was so mad that we had to empty out her entire dresser.  She has a week's worth of clothes and the rest is bagged for 2-4 weeks (depending on whether I believe the CDC - 2 wks - or lice shampoo box - 4 wks).  So Thursday, I woke up with horrible stomach cramps.  Jaelyn had a stomach ache the end of last week.  I thought it was putting her back on her medicine, but I think it was a virus that she gave to me.  It just hasn't been fun.

Thankfully, I felt better on Friday and I got to get out of the house to do a little shopping.  I needed to get out.  I bought the fabric for a new quilt I'm working on.  That makes me happy and fills my cup back up, so to speak.  Today, Allie had a school chorus thing at the county arts festival and then we made t-shirts.  I was really looking forward to having Monday off, but they took away the holiday because of snow days.  To top it off, starting Monday the school day will be ending 10 minutes later :(.

Prayer request - My Uncle Clifford is going to be having surgery soon.  He needs an "oil and filter change :)".  Or more accurately, both carotid arteries are blocked and he's going to need surgery to clean them out.  Would you please join me in praying for him?  Thanks!

How Many More Cold Snaps?

Grandma Molly always said there is one more cold snap before Easter.  Easter is April 20 this year.  I'm scared...and so tired of the cold snaps.  It's my birthday, for crying out loud, and it's snowing outside!

How crazy is that?  We are supposed to get 1-3" by the end of the day.  Did I mention it was 70 and beautiful on Saturday?  Ugh.

Since I was sharing that picture that makes me very unhappy, I thought I'd share a few that make me happy :).

The girls with one of their friends baking chocolate chip cookies with no help from me....well, maybe I helped put the flour on their faces for the picture :)

My spring table runner all finished.  I love it.

My scrappy quilt top.  I'm itching to get my new machine so I can quilt it.  Isn't it beautiful?  All the material is scraps from other projects throughout the last year.  Well, except for the white.  I had one yard of it was from another project.  I had to buy more to finish the sashing. 

I was photo bombed :).  This is Allie's quilt top for her birthday.  I made it in about 2 hours from a jelly roll.  I LOVE jelly rolls and charm packs and honey buns and turn overs and layer cakes.  Ohhh, I could get into so much trouble buying fabric.

I have 4 yards of this from another project I never made.  I'm going to back Allie's quilt with it.  She's going to love snuggling up in the flannel goodness.

These have made me smile repeatedly since I bought them.  I needed to spend $1.49 to get free shipping on something and they were clearances for $1.99  I love snipping threads now :).

My mom sent me the ugliest quilt I made when I was 23 and had no idea what I was doing so I could practice on my new machine.  I chose the word fabric as new backing, but it was just too pretty for the ugly top.  I finally convinced my mom it's not a cherished family keepsake as she'd been calling it; so she's letting me replace it.  I bought this charm pack clearanced for $1.49 when I bought the scissors and they match perfectly.  It's my newest project.  I've still got to buy the sashing material.  It's going to be beautiful! I can't wait to replicate the quilt I found on pinterest.

Testing A Slideshow - Just Ignore

Spring!!!

Welcome Spring!  While I'm actually ready for summer, I'll take spring weather any day over winter weather.  Today has been beautiful.  I think it hit 60 today.  I left Jaelyn home this morning to run errands.  The most important stop was the pharmacy!  I had a nice morning.  These days, I'm lucky to get an hour alone and that's late at night after everyone has gone to bed.  It was fun to wander around walmart picking up this and that without anyone chattering at me.  I should have wandered longer.  Jaelyn's frustration level is at 0.  It was not a fun afternoon.  In between arguments, I did manage to assemble and quilt a new springy table runner.  The quilting isn't great on it.  I was having trouble with my bobbin, and as I've already mentioned, there was stress in the house.  It won't be too much longer before I get my new machine.  I'm so excited about it and anxious to get it.  It won't ship until the first week in April.  That seems forever.

What do you think of the design?  I love pinterest.  I made 3 3x3 square blocks.  Then I cut them in half both ways, turned two of the pieces and sewed them back together.  It made a really neat design.  It would be fun to do an entire quilt like this.  Anyone need a new lap blanket???

Dan's Boba Fett

I love how Dan's quilt turned out. He's going to love snuggling with his new "woobie" as he calls his blankets.

Stupid Winter and This and That

As I sit, I can hear my kids mentioning white stuff falling from the sky....again.  Will it ever end, people?  We are in the prime spot for this storm.  The forecast has us getting 5-8" of snow.  We are getting closer and closer to going to school in July.  If they add Monday to the end of school, because we all know they'll call a snow day, that'll make our last day June 23rd.

Last week was pretty good.  We made the decision to put Jaelyn back on her ADHD medicine because she's driving me crazy.  I played phone tag with the nurse on Friday.  Hopefully, I can connect with her Monday Tuesday and get a new prescription.  I had a conference with Allie's teacher.  He's been here since January, but it's the first time I met him.  Honestly, he reminded me a little of her teacher from last year (the one I used to say was ineffective as a human being).  She's gone from all As and 1 B the first term to all Cs and 1 A (Social Studies) this term.  I didn't accomplish much of anything other than being more determined to bring her home next year so that I can have control of her education and know that she's learning.  She loves Social Studies this year, but I have no idea if she's learning anything else.  Just like Jaelyn, Allie needs to really focus on her reading skills.  At least her teacher moved her away from the kids that are being mean.  She seems happier.

I finally made a decision about a sewing machine and I cannot wait for it to come.    I've debated whether I want a machine built into a table or one on a frame. I got to play with a a $12,000 26" computerized quilting machine on Friday.  I was in love, but it's way over my budget.  The difference on my back and shoulders was considerable when I compared that one to one in a table.  So...after looking at all of the frame machines, I chose a 14" on a queen size frame.  It might take a couple of weeks before it ships and it's coming from Utah.  It's going to take FOREVER (I say in my children's whiney voices).

Isn't it beautiful?

I have four quilt tops ready to go when it gets here.  I'm sew excited.  Hee hee!

Lancaster Mistake

Jaelyn and I went on a road trip yesterday.  Our plan was to drive to Lancaster, PA to go to a quilting show so I could try out some quilting machines.  The drive to Lancaster was great...3 hours and not a single complaint from the Byrd.

Driving around downtown Lancaster was crazy.  People and cars were everywhere.  Everywhere, that is until we got to the convention center.  No one was there.  A sense of dread immediately overcame me, but I kept my cool, found a parking garage and shepherded Jaelyn to the big building with no one in front of it.  She made a big show of trying the doors...that were locked.  Turns out, the quilting show is next weekend.  What a disappointment.  Someone emailed me last week and told me she would have her machine at the show "next weekend."  I looked at the AQS website and Dan looked at the AQS website.  We both missed that her "next" weekend was actually the next "next weekend."  What idiots.  Jaelyn and I were both disappointed.  We wandered around the downtown area and went in some of the funky, eclectic shops.  She wanted to go "do" something, but since we were there, I wanted to find some quilting or maybe antique stores.  I was driving so I won.  We ended up at an Amish market for lunch and then spent over an hour wandering around an antique store (where we increased our insulator collection by 2) before heading to a quilt shop.  Oh my...we could have spent hours in this shop.  It was beautiful and filled with beautiful fabric and great patterns and kits.  I was proud to make it out only $50 poorer.  

When we knew we were going to Lancaster, I contacted two of Jaelyn's friends, but both girls had plans.  While we were paying at the quilt shop, one of the moms texted me that they got home early.  An hour and a half later, Jaelyn was knocking on Heather's door to surprise her.  They haven't seen each other in 2 1/2 years.  Heather was speechless as you can see by the video in the next post.  I keep watching the video and smiling.  I'm so glad I could give that hour to Jaelyn.  It was the perfect ending to a day that actually turned out pretty good.  

I took the girls to the Giraffe park, our all time favorite Bel Air park.  They laughed and talked.  Perfect!

We had dinner at Bertucci's in Bel Air.  It was busy and slow and definite foreshadowing of our drive home in horrible DC traffic.  

They give kids a little ball of pizza dough and cook it for them.  The waitress was very impressed with Jaelyn's Cat/Dog thing.

All in all, I think we made lemonaide out of lemons.  I don't think we'll be going back next weekend though.  

Surprising Heather

Randomness

Our weather is seriously bi-polar and it's finally caught up with me. Yesterday, I stayed on the couch all day and only got up when Jaelyn needed help with something. I honestly didn't care if she did school or not. Dan has no class today; so I'm taking the whole day off. As far as I know, Jaelyn did her school work and then the two of them went off shopping. Zac and Gracie have been snuggled up in bed with me most of the day.

Jaelyn has such a giving heart. I really hope she can harness that and use it for good as she grows up. She can be so mean sometimes to her siblings. Anyway, she brought me back a charm pack of fat quarters. Sweet girl, I'm telling you. We decided to make a baby quilt with them to put on etsy to see how long it takes to sell.

We are trying to take Jae off her ADHD medicine now that we are very settled into our school routine. We've stepped down the dose for a week now. We have 3 more days to go before she's totally off it. I can see her fuse getting shorter unfortunately. We'll give it a few weeks, but from what I've seen already, I'd say the medicine was helping a lot with her control. I just want her to grow. She's so tiny and the medicine curbs her appetite.

Jaelyn played two pieces in a piano festival last weekend. She earned superiors on both of her pieces. I peaked on Allie practicing her violin the other day. She's getting a lot better. I was impressed. She says she wants to keep taking violin lessons next year. Caden got his recorder yesterday for music class. He's a little miffed at me because I won't let him play it unless he's in his room. Seriously, though, my head feels like it's going to explode. I don't need high pitched squeaking. Next year, Caden thinks he might want to take guitar lessons.

We hit our 100th day of school on Tuesday. I feel so triumphant. I never thought we'd persevere this far and then decide to bring the other two home next year. Crazy. I still worry that she isn't learning as much as she should or would in school, but that's one of the things I have to let go. She is learning and even better she's learning on her own. I've seen so much self motivated learning lately. Her reading is also improving. Actually, she swiped the chapter book we are reading "Tuck Everlasting" and read it after lights out for 30 extra minutes.

From This Morning

If you can believe, there is almost no snow left in our backyard 4 hours later.

Where did the words go...this goes with the last posted pictures :)

The kids were in shorts and flip flops on Saturday. Jaelyn actually got a flip flop buried when she sunk into a snow bank while playing. Crazy! The warm weather was short lived. We got a couple of inches of snow yesterday morning, then sunshine to melt it away, and then another dusting of snow. Today, it snowed all morning. The sun is shining again and melting away the snow. I heard a nasty rumor about more snow the beginning of next week. I'm thinking of being an ostrich and sticking my head in the ground and ignoring it. Gracie loves that she can go into the backyard again and play on her own. She's had a ball nosing around in the snow.

Sent from my iPhone

Crazy Weather

Our Next Move Will Be Upon Us Soon

All of our military moves have been hundreds of miles apart.  Not this time.  This summer, we'll be moving to Charlottesville, VA.  It's a two hour drive from our current house.  We made a little road trip this weekend to check out the town and housing.  It was a pretty drive.  It looks like hiking will be in our future.  Dan really wants to take the kids on an overnight hike.  We shall see...

Dan will be stationed at a facility north of town.  This is the first time we won't be near a military base.  We found a mix of houses, but very little for sale or rent.  We are hoping that'll increase once it warms up or we might end up having to buy.  We made the mistake of going into a model home that was way over our budget and absolutely beautiful.  Dan even commented that we shouldn't have done it.  I have a friend with military connections in the area who will keep an eye out for us.  I've decided to homeschool all 3 kids next year.  It was nice not having to compare areas to school ratings.

After checking out the housing, we drove to a trail near Monticello, Thomas Jefferson's home.  We had a great time walking on the trail.  Last weekend was weird.  The kids were in short sleeve shorts and even shorts some with snow on the ground.

All in all, it was a great day.  I've been anxious about our upcoming move; so it was good to check it out.  I'm excited to get our orders (next moth or so) so we can start making plans in earnest.

For My Alaskan Friend

I finished another quilt last week.  I love how it turned out.

My friend's only request was a dove.  I love this one with his olive branch.

One is a lonely number, you know, so I gave her two more.

And who doesn't need a little extra sunshine in their lives?

I hid a couple of hearts and a cross in the background.

And it's a little hard to see, but I did a swirly stitch instead of stippling.  It was a lot of fun and actually felt easier because I knew where I need to go next.

Kid's Stitchery Quilt

I finished the kids' project last week and I couldn't be happier.  Well, there's a few things I would do differently, but it has nothing to do with their part and all to do with mine.  I bought some really cool (and super duper expensive) variegated rayon thread and I'm in love.  It worked great to do the writing on the quilt.  I would LOVE to do a whole quilt with nothing but quilted words.

I Want a Gerbil...Says Jaelyn

Jaelyn has been begging to have a nasty little rodent in her room for years, and for years, I've been saying "no" and Dan's been saying "when you can behave with no explosions."  We are quickly approaching the no explosions clause.  She is still up and down like a yo-yo and can be a little toot, but she is controlling herself when it comes to the really out of control behavior.  We haven't had a major screaming fit in a while.  Once she finished her horse and sloth research, she moved on to gerbils.  Are they rodents?  I don't know, but they look like little rats.  Yuck.  She's learned all about them.  She can quote you types of hay and why one brand is better than another.  She has researched prices of cages and accessories to know what she wants.  She knows the type of gerbil and colors that she wants.  We've added "a savings of one year worth of gerbil expenses" to her "behaving" requirement because I'm not paying for it.  Tonight she gave us a presentation with a homemade poster with all sorts of facts and a powerpoint presentation that she put together.  I must say, I'm a little impressed.  If she continues to hold it together and saves about $100 (her estimation), then I think Jaelyn will be the proud momma of two nasty little rodents just as soon as we move this summer.  Of course, the day she forgets to feed them or asks me to clean out their cage will be the day they find a new owner because I'm not being responsible.  Cats and dogs are my limit!

I'll have to get Dan to help me upload her presentation.  I haven't figured moviemaker out yet on the new computer :).

Self Motivated Learning

A Little Bit of Sewing

I needed a present for a little girl's birthday so I thought I'd try something I'd seen on Pinterest. This was only a Pinterest semi-success. I used a pair of Caden's old jeans and turned them into a ruffley girlie purse. Just FYI, rivets and sewing machine needles don't play well together.

Allie was off yesterday; so I decided to spend some extra time with her today. As the typical middle child who is fine spending hours by herself playing with her dolls, she gets over looked a lot. Definitely something I need to pay more attention to. Anyway, she's still asking to sew. I showed her how I made the material for the cat in her quilt and taught her how to do a very basic appliqué. Her cat turned out so well that I decided to do the same project with Caden and asked Jaelyn to make it on her own. Caden loved the project. I'm going to turn their little quilts into a wall hanging for me. We'll call it an early Mother's Day present.

A Little Bit of Snow

So we got a little bit of snow last week....about a foot to be precise. The kids had a 5 day weekend with Presidents' Day today. No one, including me, is ready for school next week.