Best of Life's offerings

 We spent Thanksgiving with my husband's family in sunny Southern Utah. It was 40 plus degrees warmer than where we live and we LOVED it. And the family time was wonderful. And the food was delish.

 We held our 5th annual Bonus Gobble at our home with dear friends. Turkey, mashed potatoes, rolls, pie and awesome company. You can't beat it!

 Mack lost another tooth! I will miss those cute tiny teeth!

 I attended my first treat swap. If there is one thing we all need more of in December, it's treats. So I brought 2 dozen of these...

 And came home with a smorgasbord of delectable delights.. (but actually I think mine were the best treats of the bunch. I'm kind of a treat snob; I make awesome cookies.)

 Preslie planned and hosted her own birthday party! HOLY COW. I have a kid about to turn TWELVE.

 I woke up this morning to this out my window! Everything is covered in crystal frost. It is gorgeous!

Other happenings this month:
sneaky 12 days of Christmas drop-offs
Temple date/Christmas shopping with Dax
Mack's kindergarten program
Mack's class party
teaching piano
Preslie's Nutcracker dance recital
Putting up our tree!

 Putting it up and decorating it was actually not that fun. We were all too grouchy. After hours of getting all the lights to work, finding extension cords, climbing up and down the ladder ('cause the tree is 11 feet tall), too much fighting while decorating and finally finishing and getting the kids into bed, I was ready to buy a fake tree. But I really don't want a fake one. I like how the real ones look: REAL. There is a giant tree in my house that used to be in the mountains. I like that it isn't perfectly shaped and it's not full everwhere and there are little pinecones at the ends of the branches. It beautiful to me. So, I won't buy a fake one, yet.

We are so excited for Christmas! I am ready! What a beautiful time of year in so many ways. I can hardly sing a Chrismas carol without tearing up. Especially the Christmas hymns. Christ's birth means more to me every year. I am so grateful for all the gifts I have! Merry Christmas to all!

a project a day

Yay! It's Christmastime. I just realized that I've made something every day so far this month. 5 projects in 5 days. Am I crazy? Yes. Did I love it? Yes. And in true Tristacular form, I spent zero dollars on any of them. I love the internet! Most of my projects were inspired by something I saw online.

1. Advent calandar from marthastewart.com. There is an activity written down in each envelope. December has so much going on that I use things like "Ward Christmas party" or "Mack's program" in the appropriate day. Tonight we watched Elf. You could also do a scripture in each one.

 

 2. Christmas tree stand. I got this tiny pink tree from a garage sale for 25 cents but the stand was missing.

 I whipped up this one from scrap trim found in my basement and 3 screws. Then I sprayed it pink.

 3. Magnet Board. This is a project my friend Jaclyn is making for her daughter Kinzie for Christmas. She saw this project on the blog House of Smiths. It turned out awesome. The radiator cover over the metal magnet board made it looks so modern and fun. I supplied a huge ugly frame from under my stairs. I painted the frame and the metal behind the radiator cover and helped Jaclyn put it all together. Jaclyn originally wanted to hang this over Kinzie's bed but the frame is so big that we decided to put it on the wall adjacent to the bed. Now she was back to needing something to hang over the bed. which brings me to project 4...

 4. Painted monogram. I said to my friend, "What about a big K over Kinzie's bed?" I grabbed a scrap of mdf from my garage, drew a K on it, and cut it out with my jigsaw. Then I painted it to go with Kinzie's bedspread.

 Would a 6-year-old girl love this? I hope so!

 

 5. Himmeli Ornaments. Saw these on the blog Vintage Revivals. I used regular straws instead of cocktail straws and sprayed mine gold. Can't wait to get a tree!

 

Whew! So much fun. And more fun with my family. Mack got to sing with his class at the city tree lighting ceremony. Santa came and Dax snapped this pic...

Best Santa pic to date. Usually the child is scared to death..and she was..until Santa handed her a Dora coloring book. Then she loved him.

Santa chuckled "Ho ho" when Mack told him he wanted some gumballs for his gumball machine.

 We got dumped on and the kids took a snow day from school and we went sledding. Winter is here. Highs are in the single digits.

 I think I'll stay inside and do more projects! Happy December!

project fever

I have the project bug SO bad. It is like a sickness that is consuming me! I wake up in the night and my mind starts spinning with ideas of what awesome things to do to my house. One time at 3am, I re-designed my boys' whole room, and it is awesome. I want to start on it so bad but I must get control of my project A.D.D. and finish Preslie's room first.

Looky what I made! I am so excited. If you don't know what it is, I'll tell you.

It is an upholstered cushion for the window seat in Preslie's room. Yay! As I was sewing the last 2 pieces together, my heart started to race. Ever wondered if sewing gives you a rush? It did for me tonight! How crazy! And while I was mid-project, I stepped on a sewing pin and it went into my foot diagonally at the back of my arch toward my heel. Only a quarter inch of the pin was sticking out of my foot! I had to just grab and pull hard and fast to get it out. Sewing is an exciting, dangerous experience.


Instead of using a 2-inch foam for this cushion, I used 2 1-inch foams because it's way cheaper. Smith's Marketplace has the best price by far on foam pads. I got the fabric from Home Fabrics in Midvale. I love that store for home dec fabric. The back of the store has an awesome clearance section and I scored this blue animal print for 3 bucks a yard. I bought the piping there, too. I didn't have to add the piping but it makes it look great. I believe with all my heart and soul that little details add a ton to the overall effect of a project, a home, an outfit, or whatever. Details take things from good to WOW.

 I even put a zipper in; my 2nd zipper ever. I've been sewing for almost 2 decades and I've avoided zippers like crazy. They are not hard! And now this cushion cover is washable.

Preslie has a comfy place to sit and read, and a perfect spot for all the fun pillows her Grandma made for her. How cool of a Grandma is that to make tons of darling pillows.

 Spoiled girl. She has the coolest room in the house.

Now do you think I'm done with this room? Think again! I still have one.. ok, two more details to add that are going to make this room super fun! I'm excited!

Oh, I totally need to shout out to my Mom who was my tech support for this cushion project. I called her 8-10 times throughout the making of this project. She is a sewing GENIUS and helped me a ton to know what steps to do first, then 2nd, etc. She gave me tips for sewing the piping around the corners and putting in the zipper. Thank you, Mom! What a great teacher over the phone!

Another huge thank you goes to my Father-in-law for building this awesome window seat that warranted a fun cushion. He has built a lot of things for me and this (aside from my house) might be the coolest one.

I'm crossing this off my project list and moving onto the next one! No one stop me!

Mom time out

I am loving November. October was... SO busy. Too busy. November 1st came and it was such a calm day. I had no appointments, time constraints, pending projects, deadlines. All of November has been so refreshing. I've really tried to enjoy it and not rush into mad Holiday mode.

You know how kids have to get put in time out and they hate it? I would love it if I was getting out-of-control and someone said, HEY- go to time out. and I got to go to my quiet room by myself and think. Well I had 2 Mom time-outs recently. The first one came after a phone conversation with a friend of mine. I was alone after I'd put my kids to bed. My house was trashed, my husband was out-of-town, and I had a huge list of things to do for primary and Halloween. Plus trying to run my house, teach piano, and care for my kids mostly by myself. I was tired, over-worked, underpaid, and depressed. I tried not to let on to my friend how crappy I felt but I must not be a good actress because the next morning, she showed up with another friend of ours, and said "We're here to rescue you! Get out of here and go for a run." I was so embarrassed, humbled, and grateful. I started to bawl. My friends gave me hugs (which made me cry harder) and I put on my running shoes and left (they wouldn't take no for an answer). It is hard to describe the feelings I had. I was humiliated. But also amazed that my friends took the time to care for me. I felt so loved but so silly that my friends had to come bail me out--that I couldn't just take care of things myself. I will never forget what they did. A simple act of kindness. They gave me a time out that I really needed!

Time out number 2 came when I dropped my kids off at my parents'. My sis-in-law Abbey picked me up and we went to St. George. No kids, uninterrupted conversation. We met up with my MIL and Abbey's Mom for Time Out For Women. We had so much fun. 3000 women at the Dixie Center and no one got lost or freaked out because of the crowds. The messages were funny, entertaining, and inspiring.

They ended up buying the same shirt!

 

Our downtime included shopping, yacking our heads off, and eating delicious salads for every meal.  Fun bonding time with cool ladies!


This salad was amazing. George's Corner Restaurant - St. George

Mom's need to send themselves to time out more often. People don't usually give us time out unless we ask for it, plan it, arrange for the kids and the husband to be taken care of and then make it happen. It takes work for Moms to have a break. But we need to do it! We should remember to take care of the person who takes care of everyone else!

Yabba-Dabba-Coo-Coo!

 Halloween makes you do crazy things! Like make 4 costumes so everyone can be a Flinstone character..

 Or buy this ridiculous barrel of cheese balls for school parties..

 Or wear a stinky rubber mask for 2 hours while you knock on doors..

 

Or let your child eat this much candy..

 

Or teach 23 4th graders to Monster Mash while wearing a cave woman dress..

Or answer your door hundreds of times to give strangers free stuff..

 

But we sure enjoy it!

And tiny kids will get full-sized candy bars because they are just so cute!

 Hope your Halloween was happy!

Ray of Sunshine

With all the birthdays going on at our house last month, I realized that I never posted about Quinn! That is what happens when you have this many kids!

Quinn turned 3 on Pioneer day. She is the sweetest child in all the world. My friend calls her "Sunshine" because she just shines with light and goodness. A few women in my family say they would for sure have another baby if it were guaranteed to turn out just like Quinn. I totally agree; she is special. I joke that she is my gift for having Mack. (That is meant in the nicest way.)

siblings playing with Quinn and her new dollhouse

When we asked her what kind of cake she wanted, she said "A Foofa cake!"

 A Foofa cake it is!

Quinn makes everyone so happy. She cheers people up and is kind an caring to those around her. Here are a few pics to make you happy!

Everyone in our family adores little Quinney babe!



Quinn is musical! She is always singing and is a great dancer.

Quinn loves her Daddy! And HE is smitten by her.

great at coloring! she won a coloring contest last month at our grocery store!

 We love our little Sweetheart! It has been 3 years of joy having her in our family!