Hot Legs!

On Christmas Eve the little girls had out their dress up clothes and Colton didn’t want to miss out on all the fun. I, of course, had to film it.

Just another way to embarrass him on his first date! :)

Read in Case of a Bad Parenting Moment…

This ought to make you feel a little better about you.

The kids and I were headed home after a quick stop at McDonalds last weekend and Ryan was following us in his truck. Delaney started to throw a fit because she wanted to ride with her dad, and the following altercation occurred.

Me: “Delaney,that’s enough. You can see him when we get home.”

Delaney: “NOOOOOOOOOOOOO.”

my beautiful, smart, wonderful daughter begins to kick the seat (my seat) in front of her repeatedly.

Me : (showing what I think is admirable restraint) “Delaney Renae Wieseler, if you continue this behavior I will pull this car over and spank your hiney.”

the car is quiet, and just as I am about to pat myself on the back for a parenting job well done, A CHICKEN NUGGET went wizzing by my head and exploded on my dash.

That’s right, the above mentioned beautiful daughter, who will only wear dresses, chucked a chicken nugget at ME!

My first thought: Oh no, she didn’t just throw fake chicken at me!

My second thought: I wonder how many people will call CPS after witnessing this….

In case one (or several) did call, I’ll tell the rest using only sound effects.

Screech (car pulling over)

Car door slamming,

Screech (husbands truck pulling over)

zzzzt (husbands window rolling down)

I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry (daughter talking to enraged mom)

**** The SPANK heard round the world****

Car door slamming (heard over child crying, you’re a mean mommy)

zzzzt (Husbands window rolling back up)

Final car door slamming.

You’ll be glad to know that we all made it home in one piece, and I indulged in a early glass of wine.

Perking my House up a Bit

Anyone else looking around and thinking their house needs a little pick me up? I’m sick of looking at plain walls and the same boring colors/pictures etc. So, I’ve been on a mission to add a something something. Here’s my first project.

A year ago I painted the basement and made the curtains but never made it any farther. I kept thinking I’d find a big picture or something that we liked and could afford. 365 days later, no dice. So, I fit the 50% off table at Hobby Lobby and grabbed some spray paint for some things I already had and turned this-

…into this. I realize this is an imperfect hodge podge of items but it’ll be something to look at until we find that one thing we love.

I had some help from the resident sickie (poor thing has a second round of the stomach flu). By the way if you’ve never used paper templates to help hang your pictures you’re missing out. It is the only way to hang this many items without putting a million holes in your wall (and ticking your husband off)

beyond the copious amounts of spray paint, I also did these art projects. The first was modge podging a picture to a canvas to make it look like all those cute canvas pictures you see everywhere. Not perfect quality but not bad for $4. The other is our house key. Thought it would be cute (and free!) to display the key to our first house. So, I backed it in fabric and spray painted the key. Presto!

The last project was this one- I bought a 99cent letter from Hobby Lobby, spray painted it yellow then modge podged fabric on it. Then put the empty frame around it. (FYI, this is all variations from pinterest- so I don’t get the creative credit)

Next, I’m going to try my hand at making curtains for upstairs. Wish me luck (or send me Nate Berkus) either way I could use a little help!

Mommy Friends

Motherhood has taught me a lot (it has also humbled me a lot but that’s another story).  Now when I find out someone I know is pregnant for the first time I feel like there is information, not generally shared, that is need-to-know. For example, they can give your more medicine in your epidural, but you might have to ask, every so sweetly, of course. Or that you might forever associate sneezing with peeing. Or that you really need to save those pain pills for before you nurse, cause 9 times out of 10 that hurts worse. There are a lot more that I try to share that aren’t really up for public consumption (but if you’re curious call me, I feel strongly that What to Expect When You’re Expecting left some important shit out!)

One of the most important of these is your Mommy friends. Husbands are optional at times during pregnancy and parenting but you’re mommy friends are not! They are as important as diapers and wipes (actually more important, because if you run out they’ll grab extra for you at the store).

 

If you are pregnant for the first time your two most important jobs are to bank sleep-able hours and make some mommy friends.

Here’s why-

* They are the only ones how actually care about strollers, car seat safety ratings, boppy covers and butt cream. The rest of the world (your husband included) is just listening politely while checking facebook/sportscenter on their phone.

*They have to find a babysitter too! So no more Thursday night movies or staying out late because after their boobs are leaking and they’re falling asleep on the table too.

*They know how to hang in there during a phone conversation. If you have kids you know that uninterrupted phone calls are a farce. A mommy friend can fix lunch, put a kid in time out and still keep the conversation going. Everyone else makes fake static noises into the phone the instant a kid starts crying. It might take 2 hours to get 30 minutes worth of information out, but they’re in for the long haul.

* Under NO circumstances will a mommy friend call you during naptime or after bedtime. Those times are sacred.  SACRED I tell you!

* They will discuss sleeping schedules, pediatricians and even the color and consistency of your kids poop.

* They will bring you Gatorade and pedialite when you’re kid’s sick, call and ask about a doctors appointment, and wait anxiously outside the door while you pee on a stick. They don’t judge you if your house is messy or you haven’t showered and they’ll bring dinner by or call when it’s been a bad day.

* They value “girls only” time even though they know most of what we’ll be talking about is our kids and hubbys anyway!

* Nothing is off limits with them, no matter how gross (your kid eating out of the litter box) or embarrassing (taking your stroller on the escalator and almost killing you both) you can talk about it and laugh about it.

Mommy Friends are the single most important resource (next to your own mommy) that you  have. They ARE your family, and could repeat every one of your child’s vital statics on a moments notice AND know where to find the tupperware in your house. Get some, and make staying in touch with them the top of your priority list, because trust me, you need them!

La La La Love Pinterest and a Quick Sewing How-to

Is anyone else obsessed with Pinterest?  I most definitively am! Here are just a few ideas that I’ve ripped off from them-

Pretty much all of Twinkles adventures!

These cute sleds for the kids for Christmas- using snickers and teddy grams!

Tons of ideas for kids crafts-

and the inspiration to turn this plain sweatshirt into this cute one (might be my favorite pin, next to my colored hair!)

Seriously people, get on there and check it out!  I’m in love!

 

Speaking of Pinterest I kept seeing simple pajama pants pinned everywhere but the instructions always assumed you know how to make your own pattern, but until recently I didn’t. So I took some pictures this time in case you can’t do what I do and call your momma to save you and your 5 yard of flannel!

 

So you’ll need you’re fabric, pants that fit, two pencils, tape and freezer paper (it’s at the grocery store by the foil and ziplocks and is genius for crafting)

Rip off a piece of freezer paper and CAREFULLY fold you’re pants in half and lay them on the freezer paper like so-

Now, this is where your pencils and tape come in, tape the pencils together like so-

This is help allow for a seam allowance, without measuring! I know genius right? (also saw this on pinterest) When my two pencils were taped together it gave me roughly a 1/4 seam allowance, if you want to be precise measure it but in this pattern it really doesn’t matter.

Then trace around your pants onto the freezer paper (shiny side down) using your jimmy rigged pencils.

Then cut it out using the SECOND pencil line as your guide.

*** at the waist and the hem you are going to need to leave several extra inches beyond the second pencil line to account for your hem and elastic casing***

Don’t forget or you're pattern won’t work at all!

On this particular pair of pants I left 3 inches extra on the top( 1/4 for the double fold on the waist band and and 2 1/4 inches for the elastic casing- if you’re using 1 inch elastic this will generally work for everyone) and 2 extra inches at the hem ( I always leave lots of extra at the hem so I have a lot to work with, especially when I’m sewing for the kids)

I had a little extra help on these!

Now you’ve got your basic pattern made- fold your fabric and lay the pattern, shiny side down on your fabric and iron it down. (this is the genius of freezer paper, it will adhere to your fabric but peel off without leaving anything behind)

pin through all the layers then get to sewing! I’ve used this method for pants for the kids, and a few skirts and dresses for Laney- it’ pretty handy once you get the hang of it!

* side note, on Colt’s pants I used really stretchy pants for the pattern and since the flannel wasn’t as stretchy it was a little tight in the bum. So if that’s the case allow for an extra inch or so in your pattern to accommodate for the stretch.  *

Happy sewing!

New Years at Stoneridge

This year we were able to go back to Stoneridge in Idaho for the New year with the Wieselers. We had the best time, sleeping, eating and swimming. The kids loved it and I loved that it was a break from the Christmas rush!

 

The girls started out each morning by combing everyone’s hair, even Uncle Wesleys!

We made egg rolls- YUMMY!

And did lots of playing!

Celebrated the New Year (or the morning after atleast!)

Colt and his favorite person in the world, Krae, spent hours playing football in the hallway. Colton was in heaven, and woke up every morning, yelling and whistling for Krae!

There was no snow this year so we took the kiddos all the they gym for a little basketball.

 

 

Fun times!

A New Years Report Card

Remember THIS POST ? Last year I post my goals for the year and it looks like it’s time to take a look back and give myself a report card…. (this one’s all about me so if you were hoping for pictures of the kiddos go up a post!)

Goal #1: Make healthier choices. We went in fits and spurts on this one. Lunch was my big downfall, I kept going back to the mac and cheese and canned soups. Not too impressed with myself on this one, so I’m putting it back on the list.

Grade- D 

Goal #2: Run a 5k. I not only ran one 5k in March but another one in June! I really had fun with this and am planning to run another one this March.

Grade- A+

Goal #3: Do things, not THINK about doing things. I think I’ll give myself a passing grade on this one. I tried very hard to do fun and different things that I might have shied away from in the past. I met my lovely neighbor and now when I have extra treats I run them over to her. I recently got colored extensions put in my hair, just for fun.

I ran in a 5k even though I’m not fast, wore skinny jeans and boots even though I’m not skinny and tried to make new friends (that one was tough). I FINALLY admitted to myself that my anxiety was not “normal” or “healthy” and saw my Dr and dealt (am dealing) with it. I have to say I’m proud that I did all this, and it has made for a MUCH happier year for not only myself but my family. I’m keeping this one on the list this year because I need to do more, but it was at least a start!

Grade: B+