Double Feature

Valuable lessons learned from the movie we went to last night. Take heed.

1. It's less than useful to tell someone that their 3-year-old was eating candy off of the floor while they were changing their baby's diaper. It's too late. What am I supposed to do at that point? Swallowed. Done.

2. If you bring a toddling baby to a double feature, they will fall asleep 15 minuted before the second movie ends. They'll spend the rest of the time trying to get on the stage in front of the screen and trying to eat ANYONE ELSE'S FOOD.

3. One more kid can make a big difference - even when you already have six. The difference is probably only in my stress levels...but those can run high at times.

4. If one of the movies includes martial arts of ANY kind, your 12-year-old son may try to kick open the glass theater doors after the movie. Big body - little kid.

5. ."Nacho" cheddar powder is code for jalepeno cheddar powder. I told them not to do it, but they didn't listen.

Woodland Delight

Here's what I did with my Woodland Delight "Jolly Pack":

I made this doll quilt, which I love. (It's destined for a niece.) It turned out so sweet that my daughter wanted it! She doesn't usually go for those colors.



...and I'm working my way through this quilt, which I think I hate.


I thought I'd like it.

I don't.

It's probably just too much gray for me. Maybe I'll soften it up with some kind of border?

Being Neighbourly

I love my neighbour, but I can't seem to get even with her.


I gave her the keys to my air-conditioned house while we were out of town last (mega-hot for Washington) summer. When I got home, she had done my dishes and cleaned my carpet...where something unfortunate had happened.

Last week, she watched my 3-year-old ALL DAY.

I made her cinnamon rolls.

She watched my littles while I polyurethaned my porch bench AND brought over dinner.

When will this oneupmanship end? ...of course, they were very good cinnamon rolls....

Baby Come Back!

I think my hubby needs to come home. I employ numerous coping methods to deal with his absences. They mainly include sewing, shopping, and diet coke, but I'm branching out a little this week. Redecorating the house - in girly ways that will probably annoy him. (Why? ...because it's in our room - Cozy's half of our much-too-big-room.) I'm a S-L-O-W decorator, which is bad when you consider how often we move.

So, I finally hung these pictures up. Yes, they look weird and uneven - that's because I still have a couple more things that belong on that wall.


...and these cuties that I got from Daiso Japan...


That's the girly part that I'm not sure my husband will embrace. I guess we'll see how much he missed me? It just seemed like a handy way to store dresses for Coze... and spiffy things up at the same time. I originally hung them up lower, but Cozette immediately reached up and pulled two of the dresses down. I'm sure it won't look so high once I get the bookshelf up....someday.

Watch Out Olympia!

...cause here we come!

Sometimes you have to be spontaneous, but, when you have six children, being spontaneous is a lot of work. Seriously.

Last Monday we got an e-mail update from HSLDA that MONDAY was last day to sign up for Home Education Day at the capitol in Olympia. It was in support of a Christian Homeschool Lobbying group - educational...worthy cause...I mailed in our application so that we could be included in the tour groups.

You could also sign up to bring a homemade pie for a representative. The kids were all in favor of that...with the exception of some mandatory preteen complaining.

Everyone loved working on their own pies, but I think we need 3 more pastry cutters.


James even helped...to make a mess.


The results were more wonderful.

Annika's pie.


Jonathan's pie.


Anthony's pie.


Sofia's bipartisan pie.


The mess. Can I just say, islands are great for baking at.


Bringing our pies to the legislative building.


The actual event under the rotunda was great. There were a lot of interesting speeches - interesting for me - not the kids. They were SO good. We left James with a friend for the day, so that helped.


Eating our lunch on marble steps.


The kids enjoyed the tour a lot (Sofia was scared to death sitting in the balcony of the Senate and the House. She doesn't care for heights.) Altogether, I think the effort became worth it when we were brought into one of the Senate committee hearing rooms. Annika's eyes lit up. She looked at me and smiled, and I knew she was thinking about how bills are made into laws! How sweet!

The Toys I Bought

Ok. I'm taking a little break from the purple polyester to blog. This is what I got at Joyworks.


Two pairs of shoes. They were on clearance. The white ones hurt my heels, but I'm hoping the black ones are more comfortable.


Mushroom earrings. I just adore these toadstools. They're so cute! ...although I sort of wish they were red.


...and my favorite, a bracelet I almost didn't get. It seemed extravagant. Shoes are easier to justify, but a bracelet is truly unnecessary....maybe that's what makes them so nice?

Instead of buying the retro Easter tins, card-signs, and hanging eggs at Joyworks, I went to Goodwill and got these:


...a kitchy-cute sign that I may or may not but ric-rac on,...


...a smaller, but still nice vintagey tin (for .99 instead of $8),..



...and an egg-decorating kit. I can't wait to use it! Lovely patterns.

Don't Dump Your Sister

Sometimes it's hard for me to stand back and let my kids play, unencumbered by maternal warnings of danger. This was one of the times I was glad I did. Yes, I know it could have gone horribly wrong. I do believe that, as a general rule, if you see your son putting the baby his giant dump truck, you ought to intervene.


...but Cozy is nearly one year old...he was helping her in so nicely...I thought I'd just watch him take her for a ride. We only had to add one rule: Don't dump your sister!


And don't worry. I gave him a ride too.