Out With the Old

Our new little house isn't going to accommodate a king-sized bed, so I'm swapping beds with my Mom. I don't really mind down-sizing (I've always been a cuddler anyhow), but I am going to miss my pretty bed and bedding.

So, to make myself feel better, I just ordered a Mother's Day, birthday present. The quilt, not the pattern (which I already have...collecting dust). I just don't have it in me for that huge of a project right now, but I figure I could find the time to make matching shams.

Happy Birthday #3

Happy Birthday, My Sweetpea!









My first little girl ever is hitting the big 1-2! That's a pretty significant birthday for Mormons - you leave primary and become a "young woman". (You know, like in Harry Potter, where wizards come "of age" a year earlier than muggles...same diff. Mormons become teenagers at twelve. :)

...and I have to say that, as grown up as she seems, it's sort of snuck up on me. Looking at her little girl pictures makes me feel like tomorrow she'll off at college, getting married, and having children of her own!

Finally - the weather we've all been craving has arrived...I hope it plans to stay a while. ...and since I'm trying to do all of the things that I anticipate missing a couple months from now, I took the kids to ride the trains.


With Annika and Tony out of town and Odie at his campout, Sofi very nicely helped me wrangle the littles.


This is the absolute laziest way to enjoy a forest. Love it. We drove by a forest park in Maryland on our house-hunting trip, and it was just plain sad. Their trees, fresh from winter, still didn't have any green on them and everything was entirely moss-free. Hmph.


Doesn't Coze look like she's squinting against the wind on our 5-10mph ride! Nope - "smiling". :) Part of me hopes she never stops doing that!


Any of you who've been to ride the trains with us may remember the old, run-down playground? It's gone. There's a brand spanking new one. The kids were thrilled (and it seems a lot safer than other one)! Port Orchard - getting all classy on us.


It was seriously Boo's dream playground. He found a train whistle, telescope (or "spotting scope"), and drums...not to mention a giant frog.


We were having so much fun that we lost track of time and had to show up late to our friend's birthday party. (Typical hooligans.) ...but check out my friend's amazing party decorations. An origami rainbow.

Birthday #2

Annika's birthday was next, and (as Sofia has come to realize) being homeschooled does have some awesome perks - being allowed to take the day off of school on your birthday, for example.

Me: So, Annika, do you want to go to the zoo today?
Annika: (with much excited jumping about)Yea! Zoo!
James: Oh, boy! (That's his new happy phrase...and it's adorable...mainly because he says it with such enthusiasm.)
Me: (thinking to myself) Awesome - because my next offer was going to be Chuck E. Cheese.

As it turned out, in addition all of the lovely vitamin D we were able to enjoy, the kids got a healthy dose of education too. The zoo keepers were out in force, and we seemed to hit every feeding/zoo keeper chat they had. The walruses were most impressive and entertaining (to everyone but Cozy, who thought they were horrific).


We watched them match shapes/colors, make all of their vocalizations, roll over, and do all sorts of things for a few little squids and fishes. ...and the walrus keepers answered all of Annika's questions. (...since the surrounding toddlers didn't have any.)

Q. Why don't these walruses have tusks?
A. They had dental issues and eventually had to have them removed.

Q. Don't they need them to haul out?
A. Only on slippery ice - here they don't have any problem.

Q. Why are their eyes so red?
A. They keep their eyes open when the swim thru the cold water, so they have a lot of exta blood vessels in their eyes, which makes them look red and bloodshot.

Q. Can I give him a command?
A. No, it's confusing for them if people start shouting commands from the audience, especially since you don't have a fish to give him.

(I made that last one up. What really happened, was that Annika gave the walrus a command...and then got the explanation from the zookeeper. The lady was pretty nice about it too. Ah, the joys of parenting.)


The kids, playing with "Dub Dub", the fake seal.


Cozy, jumping out and "scaring us". She saw Jonny do it once and just had to try it. Don't tell her, but it would probably work better if she hid somewhere other than behind her tiny hands.


Boo, doing his mandatory reindeer impression. (He appears to think reindeer are pretty goofy...) As soon as we see the reindeer, he starts looking for sticks.


...and the birthday girl, blowing out the candles on her (as per requested) Costco tuxedo mousse cake. Happy Birthday, Sweety!

Tear down this wall!

The kids have moved beyond pillow forts.

Cozy's Two!

Tony and I got back from the house-hunting trip midnightish on Monday, so I only had a couple days home before Cozy's big day. ...so we kept it pretty simple, out of necessity.

We blew up some balloons.


Coze even shared them. (Boo spent a lot of the morning looking for something light enough to be carried away by a small bunch of balloons.)


She put on her party shoes...


...they almost match.


I managed some "kitty cat" cupcakes, in spite of having packed away my cupcake book. (They're a little creepy-looking, I know!) We chose cats because Cozy just loves them, but when I showed them to her, she said, "Bunny!"


By the end of "Happy Birthday", Cozy was using her stern voice and pointing at Sof, telling her to stop singing! (I think it's funny, because Boo has always hated my singing. Poor Sof - I feel her pain.)


Last of all, trying out the Doramobile.


I was sad I didn't get to make Cozy anything. Lucky for me, she doesn't care. :) We have three more birthdays coming in the next 3-4 weeks...and I don't anticipate any of them being more fancy/involved than this one. Cake. Present. Happy Birthday.

On a different note: We accepted the counter-offer. In two months, we will have two mortgages. I'm adding that to the list of crazy things that I said I would never do...and then did.

Casa Azul

After looking at well over 50 homes in two different counties, we found one house that we liked. If they don't accept our offer (or at least make us a decent counter), I don't know what we'll do. ...cry, I suppose.

Isn't she a cute little house!


...and not as small as she seems - six bedrooms (NONE of them in the basement!) and a kitchen addition in the back. Yes, it is 1,000 square feet smaller than what we're in, with neither garage nor driveway, but that's pretty standard for Montgomery Co.

Most people buy a starter home and then work their way up. Not us. This will be our third home...and they've gotten progressively more humble. But, while I'm not terribly excited about the size, I am looking forward to a home with built-in character and charm. Check it out.

What should we call her? ...the Blue Cottage? ....Casa Azul? ...any ideas?

Livin' The Good Life

It's a good thing we had that lovely vacay, because things have been crazy ever since. Tony has been travelling every week. (I'm about to join him in Maryland to look at houses.)

Kids have been keeping me busy with their various obligations, exaggerated maladies (thank goodness for good health care coverage), and other miscellaneous dramas (haircuts). I'm trying to be properly sympathetic, because I remember my preteen years as being the most tear-filled of my life. Turning into an adult is hard work (...physically - evil hormones!)

We have been taking mandatory "tootie" breaks...Cozy insists. She mainly likes to crumble the actual cookies, but I think she would eat nothing but cookie dough...if she was bigger...and had her own apartment.


Here she is, about to double-fist it after taking my spoon away. (...and for the record - I was just making cookies with that spoon! Not eating.)


I just love how she can't say her "C"s just yet!...calls herself "Tozy"!

I have been working on a quilt. Someone made this quilt for our violin teacher, but didn't finish it properly (no batting, not quilted, not bound). I'm putting it back together - but it's huge...at least queen-sized...which is pretty big for my little machine.


I'll have to take some closer pictures - a lot of the fabrics are very whimsical and cute - vintage. I'm just eager to get back to some of my own projects. ...and with that huge roll of fabric to be quilted (and my little distracticons)...it feels like it's going to be a very long time!

My Souvenirs

I bought myself a souvenir....didn't bargain at all...I liked it too much!


I can tell my kids like it too, because I find it all over my house. ...on various window sils...the stairs...full of silly bands....


...and I brought home pictures of these beautiful quilts, which I would love to recreate sometime.



I never thought I'd be so taken by quilts made entirely out of solid colors.