Window Solution

Around 15-17 years ago, when Jason's grandpa and grandma still lived in this house, they bought a hot tub for health reasons.

That independent clause makes me smile.To make room for the tub, they added a room to the house, right off the master bath. It served its purpose, but the room was never an inviting space. By the time we moved in, it needed major repairs. We delayed the project, more pressing needs catching our attention. Baby #4 forced our hand.

It had been my dream to repair the leaky valves in the tub, make over the room and create a little retreat, but in the bright light of practicality, we sold the jacuzzi to a[nother] young farmer for $100. Jason's dad helped him extract the tub. It was a feat that required a whole wall removal. Even Henny Penny was impressed.

They then installed new, beautiful windows. We hired a friend to do some exterior work that Jason didn't have time to do--a new roof!--and then Jason and Jim hung new siding. They had plenty of help.

When my parents came down this past spring, we put Dad to work. Up to that point, we still weren't sure how we were going to finish the walls. We had kicked around the idea of corrugated tin, and I hadn't decided about the exposed brick, but we ended up going with good ol' sheetrock on all four walls, and reserving our pine floor boards leftover from the whole house remodel for the ceiling.
Once again, lots of help was present.

Dad and Jason had a great idea for the interior window that no longer served any purpose. I cannot tell a lie: watching it being removed gave me great satisfaction. (Picture wide grin of mouth with exposed teeth, sucking in of breath and clapping of hands three times quickly in succession, Aunt Mary Jane style.) It had been one of those decorating nightmares that I had tried to ignore. I mean, what do you do with a dysfunctional, useless window to nowhere? Hang a curtain? I didn't even clean it, I was so annoyed with it.I loved their idea, and Jason worked hard on the carpentry. Here's the completed window project--Bathroom side and baby room side! The changing table is directly under the shelf in the baby room.
Now it's one of my favorite parts of both rooms. From shame to glory!

Tales from the Fritz Files

Little Fritz-man has finally discovered how to use a chair to his advantage. Chair events have included one in his room to select his preferred shoes of the day, and one by my key cupboard to obtain my truck keys for his own pocket. This means my two-year-old clomps around the house with huge blue crocs on the wrong feet and real keys in his waistband.

This was one day before lunch. He was hungry, and took matters into his own hands. I only know that there had been less than half a bag of chocolate chips left. He had the number down to two when I found him.
It's fun to observe his imagination. One Friday, Owen came home from school with the most obnoxious prize ever--a noisemaker. Jack seized the toy upon its owner's abandonment, and it became Mr. Eddie's airplane, complete with loud sound effects.
Mr. Fritz gets quite silly at bedtime, when sleepiness starts to set in. This particular evening, he found the stickers and the Mr. Potato Head glasses. I confess I put the sticker on his schnoz, but he loved it, and left it until the next morning.

He cried when I removed it. The extraction didn't hurt him; he was just sad to say goodbye.Here he is, back in his culinary perch. Jack is extremely comfortable up on the counter when I am baking. This was a batch of mocha whoopie pies, inspired by my sister-in-law's amazing creation of yester-month. Licking beaters is an amazing event. I usually attempt a sneak-slip into the sink before the kids know what is going on, but this time I folded to his cuteness. It took him a while to glean every morsel, and even then I had to...err...coax him to relax his grip. Jack's other hobbies include unsolicited ketchup and mustard retrieval, starting the VCR and kitty dunking in the bathtub.

Waiting

Thursday is the due date.

Unfortunately, I have a feeling that she'll be like most of my library books--overdue. So, in the meantime...

While the Older is Away, the Younger Two Play

They are the best of friends,
they are the worst of friends.


But regardless of how they feel and what they do, they leave a footprint.Don't you love how the corn settled into the door mat?

Whereupon I spend a Saturday afternoon sniffing glue

Saturday was restless. It rained off and on. The kids were nutso from being away from home the day before. Jason was tied up with errands for the morning. I had zero motivation. By the afternoon, I was resembling a crazy woman, but fortunately, I was able to hole myself away in the baby room and work on a few decorating ideas I've had forming.

Jason helped by running on the treadmill in the basement; for some reason, the kids love to play downstairs while he is working out. He also had brought in a ladder for me and hung up a mobile I've been working on for oh, I dunno, two years. I gathered all the other necessary tools
and got to gluing! The good ol' E-6000 did the trick, after the failed attempts of thin gauge wire and needle and thread.
The masking tape held the birdies while the glue dried.

I have to admit, I talked to the birds while I hung them. Didn't I mention approaching crazy? Anyway, what good is a project if you can't take out your frustration on it? Here's another secret: I have favorites.


Thank you, Deb, for posting a link to this birdmobile so long ago!

Here's the good ending to this story: We went out for supper.
And though some of the birds have, uh, a more relaxed posture than I would like, none of them had fallen off the next day.

Coming soon--
the mish-mash of yo-yos.

Mutant Turtle

Years ago, I picked up a $5 chair on a Saturday morning yard sale. Jason thought I was crazy for even spending that much money on such an ugly thing, but we needed something to sit on! I recovered it, halfway successfully, and it was OK for the guest room. When we found out about baby #4, we knew we would have to renovate our hot tub room and create more space for this sweet little one! But furniture? Help the needy. I robbed the guest room.

Thanks to a fresh coat of paint, and the help of a MUCH more experienced sewing friend who recovered the cushions, I have a new chair! And we like it!

We're not so happy with Little Miss Turtle. Jason's grandpa had made this cute little thing, but it needed an update. This is her second color. The first coat was a little too appley-green, and I was going for chartreuse. We agree that the ribbon and her skirt are wrong, but I'm stuck. I think I took this picture before her second coat of chartreuse, so she's looking a little more perky now. She's also missing her eyes, which are to be reinstalled upon her finish. Is the zebra fabric wrong too? I think my creativity got out of control.

New Diaper Bag, Amy Butler style

2 1/2 weeks until the due date, and my sewing machine and crafty tools are busy. I finished up this diaper bag at least a month ago, using some fun, new, luscious fabric.

Here's the smart little cell phone pocket. Since I made this same bag for Jack and my phone has changed, (approximately 27 calendar months ago--what's that in technology years?) I double-checked the fit of my new phone, and it was a go.
I included a loop for a diaper bag tag this time.
I also modified the inside slightly by creating a small Velcro pocket for my keys--sorry you can't see it very well! I eliminated the bottle pockets on the inside, since the directions were written in such a way as to seriously compromise the use of other interior pockets. I couldn't find another way to sew them in, so I ditched 'em. I made the cute little changing pad and its drawstring carrying case, but alas, no picture.

If you see my husband carrying this girly-girl diaper bag, just smile and pretend you don't notice that it's not a very manly creation. Unless, of course, you see him without the baby, without me, or any of the other kids, and you have a sneaking suspicion that he's packing his laptop in it. Then, by all means, give him a polite cough.