Why Bathrooms Should Not be Carpeted

I just stepped in pee with my bare feet. In his rush to do his big business, a little boy neglected the proper positioning of some anatomy. Enough said.

My family had a late Christmas celebration in Indiana. Here's what I made for all my nephews that were present:

Three pairs of matching pajamas. It was a good thing I had until Valentine's Day to finish them! I was pleased with how they turned out. I re-used buttons from old shirts, since I hate most of the buttons on cards.

Dust

We think we're done cleaning our basement, thanks to Ruth and Janice who both gave me a cleaning boost. One of the murals is now down, one to go, and the wallpaper in the brown 70's bedroom is begging me to come and peel. I think it is going to come off in huge sheets, and I can barely contain myself as I sit here catching up on transcription work.

Seven

Seven months and seven teeth. Two cute stick-out ears and one giant chin. Ten fingers, ten toes. Jack just started army crawling/inch-worming, and usually arrives at his sister's toys instead of his own.

I took this picture on time, but posted almost a month late. We are traveling at the speed of life around here.

More Freezer Paper Stencils

While the construction was going on in the basement, we stayed upstairs. I kept my hands busy with a few crafty projects, since I couldn't get to the computer.

Just can't get enough of that freezer paper technique! What's more fun than putting your best doodling on a shirt?

Prep Work

Last week I tried Heather's sausage and lentil soup. I read through the directions thoroughly and planned my recipe execution precisely. Everything was going to come out perfectly coordinated, and I was going to throw the ingredients into the pot just like a TV chef. I browned the sausage, chopped up all my veggies, and rinsed the lentils.

I went to check on a kid or two, or do something else householdy.

Then I rebounded to my developing soup, and found this:
I couldn't stop laughing. They eventually unclumped, after I drowned them in water and banged on them with a knife for a while.

Next time

Next time we cut holes in the concrete block in our basement for new windows, I'm going to pack up all my furniture and the kids' toys and Helen's million-and-one little pieces of play food, and find a place for them where they won't get dirty. Ha. Ha-ha.

*Sigh*

This concrete dust is a monster on my back. I'm wiping and wiping, but merely rearranging it on every surface. I'm pacing myself by buckets of soapy water. 3 buckets, do some typing, 3 more buckets, check on Jack, 3 buckets...you get the picture.

No turning back

It's official--

We're beginning the basement remodel. Grab a tissue, all you cousins, aunts and uncles!

We know many family Christmas meals were held here. We know many guests have stayed overnight, a week, several months. The walls hold lots of memories. Unfortunately, the walls also hold grime, a little bit of mold and a whole lotta 30-year-old decorating.

We're first replacing the windows with much larger egress windows, complete with fire-escape window wells. The existing window frames are rotting away, and one pane is currently broken. The whole process will be quite involved, and I'm expecting quite messy. Owen is mainly excited about the backhoe parked in the front yard. He's been living in it the past few days.

Pictures soon.