Hankies

We have a few runny noses around here right now, and we are completely out of nice soft tissues. So this morning I made some flannel handkerchiefs. I saw the idea somewhere a few months ago but cannot remember where! I just cut the flannel into squares, about 8x8 inches (some are 4x8) and then zigzagged around the edges. It took me about half an hour to make 10. We've been using them today and so far we really like them.

Shirttails

Today we had to go to the grocery store. Not my favorite thing to do. But it was nice to get out of the house on a sunny 45 degree day after lots and lots of cold foggy days. The girls are really pretty good about staying close to me, however sometimes they end up walking behind me and then I can't see them and don't know what they are doing. That makes me a little nervous. Sometimes though, when they get behind me, they will grab onto the bottom of my shirt and just hang on as we walk around the store. I LOVE this. Then I know right where they are and know that they can't be doing something they shouldn't if one hand is holding tightly to me.

They do this on Sundays too. As we are walking through the crowded hallways my arms and hands are always full of baby, bags, books, papers, etc., and I have no extra hands to hold hands with my younger children to make sure they are coming with me. So they grab onto my skirt and down the hall we go. I really like knowing where they are, but also really love having them so close to me. Somehow that little grip on my shirt or my skirt is very comforting.

Saturday

Saturday morning I woke up really dreading the day. The whole house was a mess and I didn't look forward to cleaning it up or trying to get the kids to do their part. I felt very overwhelmed! I had just voiced these frustrations to my husband when my friend called and asked if I wanted to go to a basketball game with her that afternoon. I told her that I had way to much to do and couldn't come. Then I told James about the game but that I was going to stay home and somehow figure out how to get our home put in order and make it stay that way. He kindly suggested that I could try to come up with some grand huge plan if I really wanted to, but he thought that it wouldn't really do any good. Instead, he said I just had to keep thinking about it and come up with little solutions here and there that would eventually add up to something bigger. He also reminded me that it is good to have something fun to look forward to. It even helps us work harder and get more accomplished. And it worked for me that day. I called my friend back and told her I did want go to the game and then I worked hard and was more cheerful about it. So the house did get a little cleaner (not all the way, but better) and I was more patient with the kids. Life was so much better! And I have tried to keep that in mind. To work hard and make things better a little at a time. And also to look forward to something good afterwards, like spending the evening with my wonderful husband. I am so grateful for his wisdom and ability to see things so clearly when I cannot. Man, I'm a lucky girl!

Project Improv Squares are Done!

Blue/green #2 is finally done and like I said, it's totally different. I didn't plan it out at all. I like the way it turned out though.

Now on to my next project. I'll be using some corduroy pants I picked up at the thrift shop quite a while ago. It's time to use them!

Pink/Orange

I think I like my pink and orange square even better. I've still got another blue and green one in progress.

Explanation

For the last nine years or so I have either been pregnant or nursing a baby, sometimes both. Those years are a bit blurry. Do I regret those years and that blurriness? Definitely not! However, now that Noah is 13 months old and he and I are starting to minimize nursing, I feel like I am coming out of a fog. I’m not all the way out, but my brain is waking up and wanting more exercise. And I find myself asking “Who am I now?” I know that I am a daughter of Heavenly Father. I very firmly believe this. As such I am a valued and special person with wonderful talents and attributes unique to me. The problem is that I’m not really sure what they are. I want to find out and enhance them and make them grow. I also know that as a child of God I have certain responsibilities. One is being a wife, one a mother. One is keeping the covenants I have made with my Heavenly Father. I want to work at these and other responsibilities.

Basically, I want to improve myself. Do I think that I’m a terrible person, wife, and mother? No. I have been too loved by too many people for too long to possibly think that. One of those people is my amazing husband who is super smart and who also tells me every day that he loves me and thinks I’m beautiful and couldn’t ever find a better wife than me. Do I get discouraged? Yes! Is life hard and I wish it wasn’t quite so hard? Yes. Am I grateful for this life? Very.

So, this blog is where I want to document my life and my efforts to improve it. Kind of like a journal. It is also where I want to have some fun. I really, really, really like to blog! I’m not sure what it is about it, but I really enjoy it. And there are lots of neat things, like Project Improv, that I would like to participate in. This will be my place to do that.

Here comes another question. Do I have time for all of this? Probably not. Time management is one of those areas I need to work on. But I am learning that I have to fill my own cup before I can fill the cup of anyone else. I can’t teach things to my children if I don’t learn them first. I can’t expect them to keep their room clean if I can’t keep mine clean. I can’t help them feel the Spirit if I am not feeling the Spirit. If I can be a better me, I think I’ll be a better wife and mom. And so this blog is about me. My adventures and pursuits. I hope that doesn’t sound selfish. I want to document what I do so that I won't forget what I learn and where I have been in my life. This blog will be a work in progress. It will change and evolve and adapt. Just like me.

Here is my first attempt at a blue/green block for Project Improv. I've got another one started and it is totally different. Then I'll do a pink/orange and see how it turns out.

Scones

The other day we ran out of bread and running to the store just wasn't going to happen. So I started making bread, which I usually do about once a week. But there was no way it was going to be done by lunch time and I had to feed my three younger children plus two friends. What to do? I made scones. I call them scones, I think some people call them fry-bread. They are flat pieces of bread dough fried in oil. Not very healthy, but they taste really good! Especially with some honey butter on top. So good! The kids ate them all up.

I'd really like to get some more quick lunch ideas. We eat a lot of bread and leftovers, and we like it that way, but it would be nice to have a little variety now and then. Or at least a back up for the next time we run out of bread.

Scrappy Nine Beginnings

A couple of weeks before Christmas I started sewing these squares. I've wanted to make a scrappy nine-patch quilt for a long time and I'm really excited to finally have started it. I've only got 15 squares done so far, lots more to go. When I made the first few squares, I tried really hard to match the colors. But as I pulled out more colors and bought a few remnants, I realized that I really like the mismatched squares. Like the purple and blue one. I'm going to try lots more variations now. When I do finally get the top put together, it will have probably a white sashing between the squares. Some of this fabric has been sitting stuffed in boxes for a few years now and so there are lots of wrinkles. Hopefully those will come out in the dryer later.

A blog for me...

I decided that I needed a blog where I could post about the things I'm doing without overtaking our family's blog. So I'm starting off with Project Improv. (the button is there on the left) I signed up to do a blue and green square. These are the odds and ends I've dug out. I'm not sure how they'll go together yet, or if I will even use all of them, but I'm excited to find out. I think I'll start on it tonight after the kiddos are in bed.

As I was looking around for blue and green fabric I also found enough pieces to do a pink and orange square! (with maybe a touch of yellow thrown in) Hooray! I'm really excited about this project.

As for my own project, I've decided to make a couple of pillows to go on the couch in our family room. I've got a design in mind, but I think I will draw it out first. And I think I'll have to go shopping for some fabric!