Unmotivated.

I'm trying to find the motivation to work on a project. Any project. I did clean the basement. It had sort of exploded again. Neither one of us wants to work on the living room. Or clean out the closets. I'm ready for spring.

I did get a new light for Christmas. We've now changed out or modified every light in the house.

Hello, 1965!

 The new one matches the other hallway and the girls' bathroom.

We also trimmed out the other doorway in the short hallway.

Note I painted the baseboard in anger.And slopped white paint all over the door trim.

 This piece of baseboard had been missing since Sept 2010.

 Much better.

When I was painting the walls, I got some paint on the (old) baseboard. I ended up just painting the entire thing to match the wall. It looked awful. I also slopped some white touch up paint on the door trim so I'd get sick of looking at it and rip it out sooner rather than later. I'm not even sure when John put the new trim up. Maybe New Year's Eve? 

I guess I am working on a project, but it is slow going. 

 Items for my gallery wall.

I'm piling it up in the dining room as I work. I'm hoping that will keep me from putting it off for another 10 months. I've had most of the frames down in the basement since last spring. I have a few items I really want to add to the wall, but they need custom sized frames. There's a chance I'll be asking John to make them for me. How hard can it be?

I didn't get one decent picture of Mary on her birthday. We had a great party and she got several gifts that she loves. I think that six is going to be a great year for her.

Time.

Days, weeks, and months fly by. A year. Two years. Five.

Five years ago today, we walked into a vacant house. It was not yet ours.

Entry way - 12/23/2006

Today.

Our home is a fixer upper for sure. We basically bought it without seeing it first. I told John that if it had walls and a roof, we'd make it work. I feel like we have made amazing progress in five years.

Dining room - 12/23/2006

Today.

Most of our family members saw the house before we moved in. John's Dad and Step-Mom owned it. John's Mom and Step-Dad live right down the street. My Mom came that year for Christmas, and I brought her over to show her our next home. I think they all thought we'd lost our minds.

Master bedroom or as Mary said today "what's that?"

I said "it's our bedroom, Mary."

This one caught John off guard. Ellie's room - 12/23/2006

Ellie's room today.

The thing that gets me in that comparison is that in the before there is not a vent in the wall, but there is in the after. We had central heat and air put in before we moved.

Hallway bathroom. John said the broken curtain rod really made the room.

Improved!

The floor near the tub was rotten. We had a new subfloor put in before we moved in. John replaced the vinyl which is why the floor is mismatched. I'm going to miss the blue cabinet when we remodel some day. It was one of the first things I painted in this house.

Living room - 12/23/2006

Lovely subfloor, huh? The carpet was worse. We wouldn't even let Mary out of our arms as we walked through the house. We had everything primed with a sealing primer and have never had an issue with smells.

Living room - 12/23/2011

I'm keeping it real, people! What can I say? We live here.

And of course the main reason we moved here:

Mary (almost 11 months old) - 12/23/2006

It's hard to believe that it was before Mary's first Christmas or her first birthday. She was scared of all of her grandparents. It broke our hearts.

Mary (almost 6!!! years old) and Ellie (3.25 years old)

We moved here to be closer to our families. We moved here so Mary would know her grandparents. We moved here to live in the country with a big yard. We moved here so that Mary could go to an awesome school. Heck, we moved here so that someone could stay with Mary so I could go to the hospital to have the next baby.

It seems like it was just the other day that John's sister told us that his Dad had agreed to buy this house from the previous owner. It feels like we've blinked and five years just magically flew by.

back to school

Today was the first day of kindergarten. They start off with two half days, so Mary's already home. The upper classes get to stay all day. Mary wanted to stay even though the rest of her class was going home too. Sounds like a good first day to me!

Poor Ellie, she wanted to stay this morning when I dropped Mary off. She's so tall, she nearly blends in with the pre-k kids. I was busy getting Mary all set in the classroom, and I looked over at Ellie who was chatting away and playing play-doh with some other girls. She and I came home and had a great morning together.

Now I'm going to try to actually get some housework done while they play. Oh, and babysit Bitty Baby.

Sewing room

I'd love to have a sewing room. Maybe some day when the girls move out. I usually sew at the end of the dining room table which works out well. But for Mary's quilt, I needed a different set up.

I've moved the table over to the wall. I only have one side up, so there's plenty of room for the girls to play.

Ellie has found every pillow in the house. She has a pile of blankets and toys there too. And stickers. She never has enough stickers.

Mary's been coloring or making a "nest" of her own in the other corner. Then they pretend to nap! Haha.

I get to sew in 2-3 minute intervals and then get a snack, change doll clothes, get more craft supplies, change Ellie's diaper, spell something for Mary to write down, etc, etc. After an hour, I give up and go cook lunch. There's definitely more playing than sewing going on, which is fine. It is fun to all play and work together. I'll be able to work more on it at night. I worked last night until I couldn't see straight.

And the quilt? I haven't cried or thrown it in the trash. I have become an EXPERT at ripping out seams. I think I did a good job pinning to together (I used about 250-300 pins). I started quilting it in the middle, running a diagonal row from one corner to the other. It was nearly impossible to shove half the quilt all bunched/folded up through the middle of the machine. So impossible that the back of the quilt puckered up in several places. By the third time I'd done that row, it looked pretty good. I think I have six rows quilted now. I'm doing them three inches apart. It's getting easier now that I am not in the middle of the quilt. The girls and I are going out of town tomorrow, so I won't be able to work on it for a few days. When I get back and recover from our trip, I hope to finish the quilting in about 2 days. Then I'll have to do the binding. I have no idea what color to use. I went and looked at fabric on Sunday but nothing caught my eye. I don't think I want to do pink, red, or green. I want something that pops. Maybe a print? Maybe a plain turquoise blue? One of the fabrics has stripes, and it has some blue in it. Gah! I don't it to be wrong.

Rest time (Ellie has given up naps yet again and probably for good) is over. Going outside to play ball and swing.

Book slings and butterflies

I am making slow but steady progress on Mary's room. I'm down to the details, which makes JUST painting the room seem like easy work.

Her old book sling fabric wasn't going to work with her pink walls. Plus it was four feet long and had started to sag a bit in the middle.


I still liked the idea though, so we put up two new ones (plus reused the old hardware) and made them all 32 inches long.


One night in the middle of the night, I finally had an idea of what to do with them. I got them all made, but the middle one didn't hang right. Plus, I'd just put an "m" on it, and Mary didn't care for it. I fixed the seam that wasn't right and started over on the letters. I hand stitched them on as I knew I could do a better job that way. I bought the butterflies for probably less than a dollar for all three. I'd had them for almost a year and a half! I'd painted them white, but didn't like them. I think I did them with craft paint first, then tried spray painting them too. This time I did them with craft paint again. I tried to glaze them and.....the craft paint came off! Ugh. I swear I spent 4 or 6 hours painting, ruining, scrubbing all the paint off, and then painting them again. The joys of crafting.

Now for the curtains. I have them cut and hemmed. I just need to sew in the linings and do the tops. Before I could hem them, I needed to move the rods up and out a bit. I got the holes measured and drilled. I got the brackets on the walls. I grabbed the rod. It was too freaking short!!! Am I the only one that has this many dang problems with projects? They were rods I bought in 2000 and moved from our old house. I ran out today and got new ones. Hopefully there won't be any more bumps, and I can get her curtains done this weekend.

Mary has a loose tooth. She told me this morning her tooth hurt. I looked at it and saw it was loose. I told her, and she was so excited. The look on her face was priceless. She was so proud of herself. I, on the other hand, am heartbroken. It makes her seem so grown up. I'll probably bawl my eyes out when it actually comes out. She's my baby! She cannot be losing her first tooth. Didn't it just come in the other day??

Look at those rolls people!!!! Oh and her (barely there) first tooth.

It's supposed to be 50 degrees on Sunday. I see spray painting in my future.

(almost) Five

How does this:

Mary--3 days old.

Turn into this:

Mary--two days before her 5th birthday

in just 5 years?


Mary is one of those kids that has gotten easier over time. She was a difficult baby. She was a crazy, emotional toddler. I think that 5 is going to be her best year yet. She loves school. She loves reading and writing. Meltdowns are few and farther between. She can make many of her own decisions and likes having the freedom to do so.


Mary and John had a little jam session after her party today. She can't really play yet, but she can strum the guitar and loved playing along with John. She knows the words to the songs he plays for her. So she "played" along and sang her heart out. She seems very interested in playing, so we will are going to look into lessons. She's always been very musical. Maybe she'll be a rock star some day.

I hate red and red hates me.

Remember the red candle stick that broke when I tried to spray paint it?

Mary asked that I paint her desk red. I sanded. I repaired. I got two coats of primer on it. I got 2 coats of red paint on it. I was feeling good! Then I told John I just wanted to go downstairs quickly to see if it needed a third coat. I go down there.....oh, what's that in that box? looks like a drawer? but to what? It was the last desk drawer. I'd taken it upstairs one night to glue down some loose veneer. I'd forgotten all about it. So there it was, not primed or painted. I was so mad. I was hoping to have the entire thing done, but instead I needed to apply 2 coats of primer and 2-3 coats of paint to it. Ugh. I got it done and put two coats of poly on EVERYTHING. I counted the drawers about 5 times to make sure I had them all.

Before:


After (impossible to get a good picture of the actual color. It's more red and less bright pink in real life):

Louise doesn't seem happy with flash photography.


Mary got right to work.

I was sitting on the floor putting the hardware back on the drawers when John brought the desk upstairs. The first thing I saw? A place I didn't paint! Argh! Red does hate me! How on earth did I miss the same spot 3 times??? It's on the left side, down at the bottom. Right under the bottom drawer, on the top of the leg. It looks like a glare from the flash, but it is not.

Thank goodness for touch up paint and for a four year old who is just happy to have a desk of her own.

I love the way the original hardware looks against the red paint. The desk looks pretty funky in her blue room, but that is about to change. Weather permitting, I am going to go buy paint for her room on Wednesday. We're replacing all the trim in her room and painting the doors too. I am so unmotivated to work on this project. I'm already a room ahead in my mind, but what's new?

Tomorrow: Mary's fifth birthday party. Seems like we just had her second birthday. I really, really cannot believe my baby will be five this week.

And just like that.....

Ellie can say "Mary."

Ellie loves Mary. The first word she consistently said was "me" which meant Mary. It was clear she was not talking about herself. Once she could call herself something, she called herself "my." I loved it. I think that a lot of toddlers call themselves me. Mary did. But Ellie already needed the word "me" for Mary.

I've noticed lately she's started saying "I" instead of "my" when talking about herself. It made me sort of sad. The end of her baby talk in some ways. Now she says it almost all of the time. Good-bye "my." You made for some great sentences.

Then late last week, Ellie and I were playing. She found a pair of dolls. One is the mom and the other is a toddler. She asked me what their names were.

"Who this name?"
"Mommy."
"Oh, who this?"
"Mary."
"Why this Mary?'
"You little stinker, you can say Mary!"
"Why this Mary?"
"Ellie, what's your sister's name?"
"Me Wizabeth"
"And what's this doll's name?"
"Mary"
"And aren't those the same name?"

blank stare from Ellie.

I asked her later, and she told me that her sister was indeed Mary.

Today, she said Mary probably 9 times out of 10. It freaked Mary out. She kept thinking I was talking to her. It freaked me out too!

Overall, Ellie's still pretty hard to understand. But two of my favorite words of hers are gone.

My baby is growing up.

Tomorrow her mattress and box springs will arrive, and she will sleep in her own room for the first time in her life.

Deep breaths. She's still my baby.

Slow, slow going.

My log cabin blanket is roughly 29 inches by 31 inches. Each strip now takes about 2 hours to pick up the stitches, knit 18 rows and bind off. I am a slow knitter. I'm hoping to get 2 more strips of each color done before I run out of yarn.

Ellie's hat is done and already being worn:). Some people tell me she doesn't look like a baby anymore. Hmmm. She's still MY baby. A very, very independent one.


Mary loves her hat. I think that I'll make them new ones every year until they don't want them from me anymore. I need to find Mary's from last year and save it for her. (Poor Ellie didn't get one last year. Sorry, Ellie!)

I started....2?.....3? more projects and now realize I need to start my Christmas knitting/sewing too. I wish I could shut my brain off sometimes.

Knits

Who needs sleep?

Mary's 2010 hat, in progress. Started Tuesday night and will finish it tonight.

Longies for Ellie! She'll probably potty train next week as there is no way they will fit without a diaper under them. That would be my luck. Look at those LONG legs! She's in a 3T in pants now just so they are long enough. (Current stats 27 pounds, 36.5 inches tall!!!! Two years, one month old)


Another pair I made in late September. Just now got them lanolized and blocked.

Next, Ellie's hat. Then, back to the blanket. Then?? More longies? Maybe. I hate to make them if she really is going to potty train soon. Mary woke up and was basically potty trained in a day when she was 27.5 months old. I assume I won't get off that easy this time around.

Entry way floor is drying. The dry time on the poly was 24 hours at 77 degrees. It's been between 67 and 70 degrees in here all week, so it is drying slowly. I'm hoping it will be dry Friday. John's almost done working on the doors for me. Then I need to paint them.

Back to work!

Adjusting to the new school year

Mary started pre-k on Monday! I am so excited for her. She's going daily from 8:30 to 12:30. It has been a crazy week here. I was looking forward to not breaking up fights for 4 hours a day. Now I just have to listen to "where's Mary?" all morning. Hmm. Yesterday Ellie picked up the toy phone and said "Hello, Mary Elizabeth? You come home now, Mary Elizabeth?" I thought she'd like having more time with me, but I was wrong.

Please note she's looking at her reflection in the deck door. She's also growing her bangs out....again. I hope it sticks this time. The last time they got into her eyes, and she refused to pull them out of the way. I cut them because it drove me crazy.

I'm working on my August to do list. I have the last little bit of wall decoration/art almost done for the dining room. I've touched up the paint. John is going to put the doorknob back on for me this weekend. I've painted the living room and hallway bathroom windows. I have NOT lost 10 pounds. Ugh. I've worked on Mom's mirror, and can finish it up with a coat of wipe on poly this weekend.

I'm thinking about knitting something. It has been many, many months since I actually knit. Longies season is just around the corner too. I was hoping Ellie would be nearly potty trained by now, but she isn't. And her legs must have grown 3 inches this summer because the last pairs of longies I made late last winter are now capris on her.

Maybe I'll go to bed early tonight to avoid picking up the toys.

I actually got something done!

I've had this small project in mind forever. We had a row of black and white photos of Mary in our hallway. There were 5 of them. I took them the month we moved in.

Mary Elizabeth 17 months old

Mary Elizabeth 4.5 years old

I took the two physical photos and held them up as I was taking the old one out of the frame. I couldn''t even believe that the two are the same person. We thought Mary was so big when I took that old picture. And of course now I think she was just a baby back then and is so big now. I can't imagine what she (and Ellie) will look like in two more years when I get around to replacing them again.

Eleanor Ruth 23 months old

I love this picture of Ellie even though her face is obscured. I didn't hang it in the hallway though. I used this one instead.


What sweeties.

Another week flying by.....

Where is summer going? It's only 2.5 weeks until school starts. This week Mary's attending a camp at the local environmental center. She's having a blast. Ellie and I are getting a glimpse of what life will be for us once school starts. It will be strange for me to be down to just one kid for 4 hours a day, 5 days a week.

I'm still plugging away on the dining room. John finished up the window trim last night. We're using 1x4s that John's cutting down to fit, then sanding them, etc. It is slow going because the window (and door) frame sticks out a bit farther than the drywall, so John's had to cut part of the back of each piece off so that it is flush with the wall. It's sort of hard to explain, but it is slow going and a total pain in the ass for John. But it looks amazing when it's done. I love big wood trim. I thought it might be sort of dorky/out of place in our 1965 ranch house, but then I realized I just didn't care. It's our house and we can do whatever we want with it.

Here's a list of things that are done:
Walls primed and painted.
Ceiling primed and paint purchased.
Trim installed and partially painted
Crown molding installed and partially painted.
Crown molding and trim caulked where needed.
Window partially primed.

There's probably more. It feels like we are so close to being done.

Still to do:
Second coat of paint on the crown molding and take down tape (tonight- 40 mins)
Hope that underside of crown molding doesn't need caulked, but if so, caulk that (30 mins-tonight)
Finish up trim painting (tonight- 1 hour) plus take down tape
Paint ceiling (1 hour per coat x 2 coats...this weekend?)
Sand and paint door (time? when? who the heck knows?)
Spray paint doorknob, hope John doesn't think I've lost my mind (weekend?). It's cheaper than replacing it.
Window--finish priming, 2 coats of paint, caulking, washing windows. (1 hour at least per coat.....1 coat primer, 2 coats paint...so Sunday, Monday, Tues??)
Rehang curtain rod (need John's help..Weds?)

I'm doing most of this after the kids are in bed. So 8:30pm until I can't see straight which is usually 10:30 or 11pm.

I'm hoping to be done next Thursday. With everything but the door I guess. We never use it anyway. But I do want to hang it back up.

Next up, entry way/hallway/living room. It's all one big space.

I'll sleep when I'm dead.

Yearly trip to see our friends!

We were in Evansville last week. John had to go down there for work, so the girls and I tagged along to see old friends. We had so much fun! Thank you Karen, Kevin, Amelia and Miles for hosting us. I'm already looking forward to next year.

We played outside every day.

They jumped off the trampoline into the pool. Karen and I were amazed that no one broke an arm.

Ellie loved it!!

Mary looks hungry and worn out, but we weren't done yet!

I wonder if Ellie ate this or just put it back in the bowl.

We (well, Karen) let them paint the side of their shed. It's washable paint, but now I'm wondering when it will rain down there.

Ellie decided to paint herself instead.

Best friends! I was so happy to see Mary and Amelia play together so well.

I came home ready to get stuff done. I didn't take any crafting stuff with me at all last week. In fact, I hadn't crafted for about a week before the trip either. Karen's a crafty person too. Her house is full of stuff she's made. I love seeing it all. I got right to work on this quilted table runner.

It isn't quite done. I am so happy with it! Not perfect by any means, but I did my best. It was my first quilting project.

The dining room is still all torn up. I guess I jumped the gun a bit in tearing the paneling. Oh well. We don't use the dining room very often anyway. The good news is that they should be starting soon. The windows are scheduled to be delivered tomorrow! I'm waiting to hear from the contractor as to when he'll be able to start. Yippie!