Everything Scrappy

A Good Monday To You

2010-03-15T05:39:00.000-07:00

Do you ever look at your children and think, "You are a total rockstar, kid!"

A Morning Treat

2010-03-08T09:02:00.000-08:00

The bigger little one this morning: 'I know! Let's dip strawberries!'

We like to have dessert after every meal around here.

I just happened to have a few strawberries and just enough chocolate chunks to fill a little teacup.

She dipped them all herself and even taught the little, little one how.
As many of you pleasantly know, chocolate dipping is in her genes. Although, it looks like it is a generation-skipping gene in my case.

What a Relief!

2010-03-01T16:48:00.000-08:00

I can finally spill the beans!

check out the handsome couple, second one down
(Mark & Julie Furniss)

When I heard the news late one night in October, I was nothing but thrilled for my parents. My dad has always talked about wanting to serve a mission in Korea someday. In fact, in my early years, I was under the impression I had been adopted from Asia. And my mom? My mom has always encouraged my siblings and me to go explore this big world. My heart leapt at the thought of my sweet mom getting HER big adventure.

The next morning, my sister admitted to shedding a few tears when she heard the news. I was curious why I hadn't had the same reaction. The morning went on and thoughts popped in my head about probable babies being born in the next three years, possible weddings, grandparents who are currently receiving amazing love and service from my parents, does Dad just retire now? Do we go home for Christmas? Where's home? Where does Megan go when she has a week off school? What does Collin come home to next summer? And just as they are right now, the tears started flowing.

Many of my friends here are not LDS and it was interesting to hear their reactions and questions when I told them my parents were moving to Korea for three years to be 'mission presidents'. They wondered if my dad would continue his business over the internet from there (no...), if they can come back to the states to visit, (no...) if they'll get paid to do it, (no....). Then almost every single one next asked "Do they have to do it?" or "Can they say 'no'?"
They can say no. But they wouldn't. I don't think many people would.

It's been awesome to watch them go through the process of preparing for this opportunity. Whenever we asked our parents for things we couldn't have, they'd always joke about us getting in the wrong line in heaven. I don't know what I did to get in their line, but I feel pretty lucky to be their daughter.

Need a Pretty Project?

2010-02-22T06:05:00.000-08:00

My friend, Missy, did a blog post about the owl shirt and paired it with an adorable tulle skirt. I've seen these around and in boutiques and always thought it was something I could probably figure out and not pay boutique prices for it.

Turns out, pretty easy! Basically ruffle two long, 3-inch wide layers of tulle together, make a tiered skirt out of the same color, and top stitch the ruffled tulle right on the seams of the skirt. Find the much more detailed tutorial here.

I always buy more fabric than I end up needing and bought twice as much tulle as I needed. But then the girls had two birthday parties last week, so I sewed up a few more, threw in a crocheted flower clip, and we were good to go. All four skirts cost me less than $20. The tutorial calls for at least 2 yards of tulle per skirt but I only needed a little over one. Maybe I was making smaller skirts. But I say get yourself a bunch (it's cheap) and make a few extra for the little girlies in your life.

These pictures don't make it seem as frilly as they actually are. Trust me, these babies are twirl-able fun!

Oh, Love

2010-02-14T10:13:00.000-08:00

That boy is sure outnumbered, isn't he? Happy Valentines from J and all his Pace girls.

Fairness

2010-02-04T11:30:00.000-08:00

It happened. We wore right through our pajamas this week. I am a baby when I'm sick. Really, pathetic.

I've been making a conscious effort to spend better time with my kids, not just give them an activity to keep them out of my hair. I feel I've been defending my stay-at-home mom role a lot lately. Sometimes to myself. So I thought--ok, I've made the sacrifice, I've made the decision. Might as well not do it halfhearted (well, actually, I thought of a different word, but I won't put it).

Plus, I've been concerned about Abbey's sassiness lately. The problem is that the things she says are taken straight out of my mouth--it sounds so disrespectful coming from her. We're just getting in some bad cycles. So I called my old friend, Andy. I learned so much about life and parenting from him and Heather and he happens to know a thing or two about family dynamics.

He recommended 'Raising an Emotionally Intelligent Child' by John Gottman. I'm not too far in, but I laughed to myself at this part:

"Behavioral psychologists have observed that preschoolers typically demand that their caretakers deal with some kind of need or desire at an average rate of three times a minute."

I think that's high for my kids, you know...they sleep sometimes. But I do know Abbey is more receptive to my discipline if her cup is full. In fact, she hardly needs much discipline if I've been filling that cup with praise and attention during the day.

So still trying to figure it out. Finding that balance of taking care of myself and doing right by my kids. Always working on balance. I hope if I err, I tend more to their side.

Not Lookin' Pretty

2010-02-01T08:43:00.000-08:00

I am so pathetic today. And frustrated. And sick. I haven't been this sick in a long time.

I need to get fingerprinted for the IRS. My local PD won't do it, the people they referred me to told me (when they finally called back five days later) the IRS insists on 'ink' ones and my police department would have to do it. Local PD said they simply don't do it anymore and referred me to the Country Sheriff whose phone lines disconnect you every time you choose an option in their endless phone menu. I'm considering committing a petty crime so I can get this done and start my tax season, I'm already feeling that April deadline and my time ticking away.

Thought I'd do a little blog post about preschool this week but when I went to pull pictures off my camera, it repeatedly told me the memory card had an error. After looking through the pictures over and over, I finally decided to just reformat the card and lose everything that was on there. Turns out...the card's not the problem. The card reader probably is.

So I'm going to go play with my kids and forget the rest of the world for today. If you need me, I'll be lost in a land of doll houses and princesses.

Pretty Paintings

2010-01-25T12:33:00.000-08:00

Abbey's big Christmas present this year was an art easel. I know you more experienced mothers feel you have a million pictures and art projects laying around, but this is so new and charming for me. She loves to draw and gets so focused on her paints. She'll dab a little, step back to look, come back and make a few more strokes until she's satisfied.

When she's done, she makes me close my eyes and stands in front of her work with both arms stretched out. Then she unveils with a 'Ta-Da!!'

This particular one is of her and her dad. When J asked why he had so many eyes, she said, "Those are your whiskers!" He can be a bit grizzly when he gets home after a 32 hour shift.

Winter Retreat

2010-01-18T19:25:00.000-08:00

All I want to do these days is practice the piano and play ping pong. I found some beautiful, challenging pieces for the former and I've been schooling J in the latter. And anyone who thinks he may be letting me win does not know him well!

Winter blues? I don't know, I don't think so. I have no desire to leave the house and that is unusual. But I'm thinking it's more of a winter-embracement. I am pretty content these days (although my sister would tell you otherwise after she had to talk me down off the proverbial ledge Saturday morning).

Throw in some hot cocoa, soup, and warm bread, and you just might not be seeing much of us until the spring thaw! I can hold out as long as the kids can :)

At The...Carwash!

2010-01-11T14:39:00.000-08:00

And now for my favorite moments and pictures of the week.

The girls found heaven:

Those of you who are lucky enough to have memories with my little sis know that her memories are strongly tied to food. I realize now she was trying to maximize our time and nail down 'favorite aunt' status with the nieces she rarely gets to see. Well done, sis.

Ice cream in Time Square

A little cookie baking time:

And incredible, mood-changing, devil's food cake cheesecake from Junior's. I ate it with my eyes closed. And every bite seriously pulled me out of the stinky mood I had that morning with my kids. We told Abbey to show Noah her treat and got this: {classic}

I wish I would have thought sooner to wrap my scarves around the girls. It was a frigid week and this definitely helped. Obviously a little too big for Hayden, so as soon as I figure out how to knit, the first thing will be baby scarves.

Again, Abbey, with the dancing. I love this girl.

Al & Noah had to head back to work on our last day, but I (wisely) scheduled a late flight so they could help me get back to the airport. Every child in that city needs their own entourage. But I was on my own for a day. I seriously considered trying the subways. But alas, I was not equipped with the gear, the courage, or the few extra hours I needed for when I inevitably got confused and lost. I was especially leery after Allison told me about the baby stroller that accidentally rolled and fell onto oncoming train tracks (baby survived, you can pull your heart out of your stomach...I know, I just about died as she was telling me).

Anyhoo, the Staten Island ferry is a short walk across the park from Al's pad, so the girls and I boarded to float past the Lady in the Harbor. This was such a sweet memory. We have a book I read to Abbey about a little girl who daydreams about sailing a boat to find her friend who moved away. She talks about sailing past Lady Liberty and out to the ocean. Abs was so excited to see her ("she's green!") and tell Hayden all about the story. So sweet.

These two, I love 'em. We all adore Noah and Allison gets me better than anyone else (for better or worse, ha ha!) They were so sweet to spend New Years, a weekend, and two of their vacation days hauling my stroller and luggage up and down stairs. Not to mention lovin' on my kids and spoiling us rotten. I lost my little point-and-shoot camera with all our New Year's pictures on it, so maybe we will have to go back next year, I don't know.

So Here We Are in NYC

2010-01-11T12:27:00.000-08:00

Get ready for a big ol' post of us just standing in front of cool stuff :)

This is the view from Allison and Noah's office, not too shabby, eh? We kept a pack-n-play there and it was so nice to hop over there when the girls needed a nap. And speaking of Allison and Noah:

The most gracious of hosts! We couldn't have done it without them. Literally. I don't think I could do that city without at least a 3 adult: 2 children ratio.

I really wanted to blend in, avoid the 'I'm A Confused Tourist' look. I was curious if I could hack it as a big city momma. As it turns out, no. When I told Katherine I was taking the girls there alone, she told me how empowering it was for her to take her girls to Chicago by herself last year. Well, I definitely did not leave there feeling empowered! How do people have kids there?!? I would need a more subway-friendly stroller, a better place than my back pocket for my metro card, and if NY could install an elevator or two in the subway, I'd be much obliged.

This mosaic was awesome and Abbey loved running by shouting the letters.

My girls totally bought into the idea that New York is the city that never sleeps. I wanted them to go harder, but I was actually impressed with how well they held up. And the second Abbey ever got a few square feet of space, the girl was shakin' it:

I wasn't too concerned about catching the touristy stuff. But when you are already roaming around FAO Schwarz, who could resist sliding around on the big Big piano?

And is the Shake Shack worth the hype, my friends? In a word: YES!!!! The burger I could take or leave but I'd say that about any burger. But the shakes at the Shake Shack? Mmm, Mmm, Mmmmmmmm.

Here's Hayden licking the last bits of the french fry carton:

Al & Nobie had to run into work for a couple hours one afternoon so the girls and I took the chance to walk next door to Rockefeller Plaza. I was really hoping to run into Tina Fey. Turns out they film in Jersey, lame-o. The tree is still up and the girls were enchanted with the ice skaters, so not a total loss :)

Detox

2010-01-07T10:53:00.000-08:00

We're home! And dealing with the aftermath of our fun and intense trip to the big city. The girls are already asking about Allison and Noah (Nobie, Owen, Ownah...Abbey had a hard time getting his name right this week, ha ha) but couldn't stop laughing and smiling when they saw their daddy last night. How I love vacations. Er...trips. I wouldn't be this exhausted if it had been a vacation :)

Celebrate

2010-01-02T15:28:00.000-08:00

Spent New Year's with some of my favorite girls and a few other million New Yorkers :)

The Haydster...hailing us a subway.

And To All, A Good Night

2009-12-23T05:19:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas, y'all. I hope yours is full of meaning, love, good food and good company. Catch you in 2010!

Beginning To Look A Little Like Christmas

2009-12-21T14:01:00.000-08:00

The girls and I are working on some Christmas cheer around here.

Who loves helping mom?

And who's here for the sugar?

Showing off their masterpieces:

I wanted to come up with a gift for Abbey's friends that she could actually help me make. Ashley from lil blue boo came through again (I love her blog!) We made almost 40 bean bags for Abs' buddies out of fabric scraps and food storage :)

Now off to bake/wrap/snuggle/deliver/sew/assemble some more Christmas goodness. This holiday is a lot of work!

(random pictures; i just can't get enough of this mug)

A Pretty Chloe Monday

2009-12-14T06:46:00.000-08:00

Sorry, family. You get a repeat. My cousin posted this the other day, and I begged and 'pretty-pleased' her into letting me use it for Pretty Monday. I can't believe we missed living by Ms. Chloe by just a couple weeks. I have a feeling she and Abbey could rule the world together.

Fashion Tips from Chloe

Every occasion calls for a crown.
You can never have too many patterns.
Never leave the house without a scarf . . . even in the summer.
If you can't wear a boa, wear a bow.
Only buy shoes that sparkle.
Every outfit can be improved by adding a princess dress on top of it.
Don't wipe spagetti sauce off your face. It makes you seem more down-to-earth.

And you're welcome.

(Here Chloe demonstrates proper attire for taking your older brother to school.)

*thanks melissa*

It's Just Better Homemade

2009-12-09T18:42:00.000-08:00

A few months ago I randomly got two requests for crocheted flowers in the same week. Nicole wanted some clips for her sweet Bridget and Tristie wanted yarn ones to go on her sweet beanies. In return? Perfect matching Halloween bags from Nicole, and to-die-for handmade beanies from Tristie. Not a bad reason to bring the ol' crochet hooks out of storage.

I started this hobby last Christmas when J's mom saw me looking at crocheted flowers on etsy. {My cousin, Jen, sent me some attached to hair clips for Abbey when Hayden was born, and I was smitten; I had never seen anything like it.} My mother-in-law can figure out anything crafty and by that afternoon, she was showing me how to make them myself.

I love working with my hands on stuff like this. My New Year's goal is to learn how to knit, I know I would really enjoy that. People here think I'm odd. I stay at home, I sew, I crochet, I grind my own wheat (that one really got them!) I was finishing up a flower at my friend's house on Sunday and she said I'm the oldest 26 year old she's ever met :) But I just can't think of many things more charming than something knit with love.

Tristie wrote me a sweet note when she sent the beanies and said she loved thinking of my girls as she made them. And every time I put them on, I think of that and her. You just don't get the love feelings with an Old Navy hat.

So it's been a while since the kids have had the lens stuck in their faces. They didn't know what to do with it. Here's pretty much what I was getting this morning:

And my personal favorite:

The Paparazzi

2009-12-01T17:43:00.000-08:00

I found this on my memory card. J really likes the telephoto lens. And I wasn't aware it was being taken. And I'm glad my stalker's good lookin'. And I think Abbey totally looks like a celebrity's kid in this picture.

And I really hope I don't always look that angry and intense.

Thanks Dude

2009-11-30T07:08:00.001-08:00

I'm noticing a trend. For the last 4 out of 5 Thanksgivings, we have been miles away from family and enjoying a feast with dear friends. Turns out we have picked up some pretty awesome ones along the way.

Last week we headed down to the Lifferths, some of our favorite friends from college. We had a beautiful dinner at Alanna's mother's house who quickly made us feel part of the family. She had two of her good friends there as well. Friends that over time have most definitely become family.

Over the next year, my family will just become more spread apart. It's hard. More and more I want all my siblings to leave their adventures and move home. But it was so good for me to see the Kiel family and their loved ones. Alanna's mom's friend watched the girls so we could eat, carried on easy conversation, then kissed me goodbye as we left. It was nice to see the familiarity and love between these women.

:: other highlights ::

-the coolest (albeit dimly lit) children's museum. And the sweetest, most endearing Santa I've ever seen. Seriously, how great does he look?

-lovin' on each other's kids. If you love your friends, I suppose it's natural to love their offspring. Hayden spent more time snuggling with Alanna and I ended up with more pictures of Keira than my own girls. And no kid can resist Randy.

-keeping our kids up all day then leaving them with a babysitter to go out to eat just as they're about to lose it :) That was brutal, but I think they crashed pretty early for her.

-introducing Randy and Alanna to Modern Family--have you caught that show yet? Love it.

-and, of course, global domination! What trip with the Lifferths would be complete without it?

J always intimidates me out of Australia and I flounder around Europe. Yeah, he took me out pretty early in the game. Blast his power of persuasion! But Randall gets to have the bragging rights until we meet around the map again!

Monday, Monday

2009-11-16T15:33:00.000-08:00

I Love My Job

2009-11-13T06:25:00.000-08:00

Lately I've been loving this mothering gig. (Up until this morning when Abbey told me for the first time that she hated me. That stung a bit.) I love the phases they are both in right now. Abbey's mind is exploding. I think I would be amazed at her capabilities if I fostered it a little more. I've kept this drawing for weeks now:

It's true, it is the thing that nightmares are made of. And this image has haunted me, I'll admit. But I couldn't throw it away until I scanned it into the computer, I love it for some reason.

She was really sick the past week and her voice was quite raspy and high pitched. It was kind-of nice to snuggle all day with her and watch movies. That night at dinner, she was saying the prayer. In her squeaky voice, she said "Thank you, Heavenly Father, for letting us watch movies all day. You. (dramatic pause) Are. (dramatic pause) Awesome!"

Hayden is getting in on the snuggling lately as well. She wakes up around 5 am, I grab her some milk, and she falls back asleep in my bed. But she isn't content unless she is snuggled up in the crook of my arm. It makes me so happy.

She is a BULLY. She really loves to grab our faces. Hard. She almost made a grown man cry last night (I'm not naming any names...) It's completely unprovoked and random, so it's hard to stop. But she still gets in a lot of trouble.

So a few days ago, I was struggling with the squirmy thing to get her arms through her shirt. I said "Hayden! Push!" She stopped moving and looked right in my eyes. Then smiled and shoved me with both arms. This life can be confusing for a little person.

School Rules

2009-11-09T13:50:00.000-08:00

I may need help from you on Pretty Mondays. It was my turn for preschool the last two weeks and now we probably have the flu floating around (not necessarily the cause of the other). So between playing catchup and trying to keep hands washed and cups separate, there really is nothing pretty to see around here. So wanna see what preschool was about last week?

The letter was 'H'. The theme was 'Houses'. The kids are awesome, I had such a great time, thanks to my incredible mom's perfect ideas.

The welcome exercises we do every day are so cute. We recognize everyone who is there and sing a song about their name. Then they each come and open their bus window and velcro their name to the front board. We sing about the day of the week and the weather then 'dress' our Bernstein Bears for whatever the weather is that day.

They are getting close to learning the pledge and they love singing 'You're a Grand Old Flag' and marching around the house behind the flag leader.

I found this idea in the "Teach Me, Mommy" book. I made each of them a house, with five or six pages behind for each room of the house. Then I drew furniture for each room and they colored and cut which ones they wanted in their 'house'.

We built houses for snack time as well. Sometimes they surprise me with their creativity.

The best part! Have you read 'The Mitten' by Jan Brett? It's about this mitten that gets lost in the snow and all the forest animals squeeze in to keep warm. It holds for the mole, rabbit, badger, fox, bear, etc. but explodes when the last little mouse makes the bear sneeze. So I made my own, giant, spandex mitten! They LOVED it. They'd each pick what animal they wanted to be then look through the book to see who got to go in first.

I knew moving here that I wanted to find a group of moms to do a preschool rotation. I happened to talk to just the right person at church who had done this before and was interested in doing it again with her youngest. She found the other moms, got us organized, and had great ideas to keep things consistent for the kids. All the moms are as excited about it as I am and I'm so happy to be a part of it. Abbey is learning things so quickly and also learning respect and invaluable social skills. Love it. And love that I don't have to do it again for eight weeks, ha!

Sensible Splurges

2009-11-04T07:36:00.000-08:00

Do you use google reader to read blogs? There's a box on the right side that randomly shows 'recommended' blogs. I'd never paid attention before until sometime this summer I noticed my cousins' collaborative cooking blog featured. I was intrigued and wondered how a blog gets 'featured', so clicked on the next one in the list. How adorable is she? The latest post happened to be on estate sales and I fell in love with the milk glass she found. And I JUST realized that I ended up finding the exact same one, ha ha! Anyway, J has always loved garage sales and would usually just take Abbey because I wasn't that interested. Well, after seeing Leslie's post, I got interested! Plus I knew it would be something great to do together. The man seriously loves to find a deal. Let me show you a little sample of some of the pretties I found this summer:

It occurred to me that I could find framed prints, preferably in odd sizes, and have my own pictures printed to go in the frame. (found this one for $3) A few times I've been nervous as I'm taking out (and likely throwing away) prints that have certificates of authenticity on the back. I really hope I don't find out they were precious works of art some day. Although, I really doubt it. Who's Andy Warhol?

One day, my friend Melody, (who I unreservedly trust with any design decision) mentioned I should find some sea glass for my bathroom. It's so funny how once you get an idea in your head, all of a sudden, you realize a lot of garage sales have them! I found the three matching ones from a woman whose mother got them as a wedding present. I felt bad she didn't find that sentimental, but I did! Even if it's someone else's mother :) And it's the perfect place to keep my wedding ring--I was always misplacing it when I didn't have a designated spot. Then the second and fourth one I bought from a woman who blows glass herself and sells them at art festivals. She was just getting rid of inventory and I was happy to take it off her hands (along with some bright green pieces that look great in my bathroom!)

Remember the chairs? Remember how I had grand plans of fun color schemes? The man at Sherwin Williams squashed the dream. I already had a gallon of paint and thought I could split it into quarts and have them tinted different colors. The guy was quite abrasive and condescending and I can't describe the confrontation very well, but I felt really stupid and really pressured to make a decision and ended up tinting the entire gallon 'spa' blue. I used a little over a quart for the piano... So... Two little chairs are blue now. One black. Two red. They look cute together. And SO cute with my preschoolers sitting in a row (who DO fight for the red ones, Melissa! You nailed it.)

the day j found the chairs (I think all 5 for $5) was the day he found:
abbey's first mac
($10!)

J mostly keeps an eye out for toys for the kids. Then his favorite thing to do is to come home and look up the retail prices online.

I've also been keeping my eye out for fun dishes to use at parties. Found a set of these cute plates and saucers for a few dollars.

I also have plans to do an Alice in Wonderland tea party for the girls' birthdays this spring. So I've been spotting fun tea sets for that. I hope their little boy friends (boy friends, not boyfriends) don't mind the seriously girly theme.

And then I love just finding random little things like this for a quarter. Don't you think that would be cute, filled with fresh-baked chocolate chip cookies as a thank you gift?

That's just the start. I'll do a whole other post on the stuff J found for the girls' room.

Does this all make me seem cheap? Tacky? I used to hate garage sales, I felt yucky. Recently a friend told me how her husband doesn't like to buy things on sale because it makes him feel cheap. I'm so opposite now. It is a thrill for me to find a great deal on something I adore. So maybe I shouldn't be announcing my cheapness or excitingly telling someone how cheap I found my girls' clothes. It's a compulsion.

A Pretty Picnic

2009-11-02T18:07:00.000-08:00

The girls and I hit the road after church yesterday and spent the afternoon in the shadows of the Kirtland temple. It was a bit of a drive and there were a few reasons not to go, but one big reason to make sure it happened.

My little sis was visiting her in-laws for the weekend. The last few weeks have been a drastic mix of emotions for the Furniss clan and I think we all are feeling a strong need to be together. And I needed to see she was ok. This girl is incredible. I am completely amazed at her strength and maturity. Oh, it felt good to be with family. Thanks, Mom Riley, for spotting me some toll booth cash to get home :) It was a pleasure to spend the day with you guys.

Happy Pretty Monday

Something Wicked This Way Comes

2009-10-30T18:31:00.000-07:00

That's Galinda with a 'guh'!
How awesome of a mom would I be if I actually dyed Hayden green?

I promised them a little sugar if they let me take pictures of them in their costumes. As we were walking downtown to find a spot, Abbey picked this cute cupcakery. In the meantime, a lady thought the girls were adorable (and who doesn't, really?) and gave us free smoothies at her shop. But I did promise a cupcake. And one that matched her outfit. I'm ready for this diabetes-inducing week to be done :) At least the sugar part.

My cousin, Nicole, made the girls trick-or-treat bags that go perfectly with their costumes. I'll have to post about my side of the bargain later. It made me feel better about not putting much of an effort into their costumes this year.

Happy Halloween, Y'all!