ABCD...G: August 2010

Monday, August 23, 2010

My Latest Time Consuming Endeavor

Sometimes (a lot of times, actually) I find myself asking why I choose to (insist on, would be more accurate) pick projects and plan events that suck up so much of my time (and resources $$$ for that matter!)

Then I remember, its always for the best of reasons. Its for people I love and care about, I really, truly, deep down LOVE doing it, and I just flat out can't help myself.

My sister, Rachel, is expecting her first baby (a girl) really any day now. Months ago, my mom and I discussed giving her a baby shower...so I got planning.

After going through my fabric stash (which, surprisingly to me, is quite large) and purchasing a few enhancements, here's what I came up with...

and I thought, what would be better than a baby quilt.

The absolutely LONGEST part of the whole process was the laying out of pieces- couldn't have colors close to each other, had to keep patterns separated...it literally took twice as long as the actual sewing.

During all this time, poor Cole was extremely neglected and managed to find ways to occupy himself, including DESTROYING the house and taking a few fantastic photos (one of his FAVORITE things to do lately)

He took this one below, too!

The finished project! I am actually EXTREMELY proud of it (so much so, I debated keeping it and just going out and buying a gift!) It was my first attempt at "quilting" (I've always just "tied" quilts I've made) and I love it! I am already planning how I am going to convince Abe that Cole needs to move into his Big Boy Big Boy Bed (you know, a full size) so I can make another quilt. I'm thinking my room may need one, too. Ohhh, but how I am dreaming of a new sewing machine (I have a few models in mind- maybe for Christmas or I do have a BIG {gasp} birthday coming up- a girl can dream, right!)

I also pillaged the rest of my stash (and added a few supplements) and came up with this assortment of hair bands/flowers (all the flowers are on ribbon covered clips and can be switched out on the headbands)

I had to cut myself off at 12 (I do have limits, after all) mostly because, simultaneously, I was creating all this as well...

Paper Rose Topiary (no exaggeration, there are at least 35 mini glue sticks holding this bad boy together! It turned out so good though!)

I also sat and folded about 40 paper pinwheels, which covered my parents' house (I also found those polka dot stickers on the door at the dollar store- perfect! They, too, covered the house)

This was my favorite of the pinwheels. I went through (and spent 2+ hours organizing) my paper/scrapbooking stash (again, amazing to me how much paper I truly have- but can a girl ever have too much paper or fabric, really?), found these adorable letters and spelled out the baby girl's name. (In case you can't see it, it says Brylee)

I also made some of my favorite paper lanterns- I really do love those things!

My camera has been having some issues (possibly due to my budding photographer ???) so the best picture I got of my sister and the baby bump was this one (with her husband, Bobby)...

Like I said, it was all totally worth it, though I am glad its done. Now I can go back to paying attention to my son, my husband, and my house (which DESPERATELY needs attention right now since Cole has destroyed it, remember!?!)

Of course, that's until I find/start a new project.

Any ideas?

Friday, August 13, 2010

Cole's a School Boy...

...well, preschool boy at least.

Cole started Preschool on Monday. Here he is sporting his new school clothes.

And making a goofy, fake smile while saying "cheese"

Walking up to the school...

Mommy and Cole (again! Darn it, I should have got one of Cole and Dad. Abe met us at the school for the big day.) It was a big day for me, as well. This is the first time we've left him with anyone that is not a blood relative! I cried for quite some time in the car after leaving him.

In front of his classroom...

Putting on his name sticker and checking out what's going on. He spotted a car wash (right there in front of him) and so Abe and I made a quick and sneaky exit.

When I went to pick him up, I walked in the room, he saw me, immediately stuck out his bottom lip, which began to quiver, and then (BREAKING my heart) he said "Mommy, I wost you!" It took everything in me to not start crying again! His teachers shared with me that he had been pretty sad that day. So, what better remedy than an In-N-Out milkshake?

He goes three days a week (M-T-W, which is a schedule that I LOVE!!! I love that we can have 4 day, uninterrupted weekends). Therefore, day two was worse than day 1. The director of the school, who was helping out in his classroom, had to peel him off me and I left the room to the most heart-wrenching cry. Again, I cried too, but not till I was out of the classroom and had my sunglasses on- I mean, who cries on the 2nd day of dropping their kid off at school?. Oh, the joys of being a mother. When I picked him up that day, there was some small pouting and about a dozen "Mommy, I missed you" (but in the cute, adorable way only Cole can say it) before we got to the car. The teacher said he cried for about half an hour, but then was a great participator and was the best helper cleaning up the play-dough.

Day 3? Well, what do you know- Cole started crying and at this point I was kind of over it, until another mom said, "oh, he's so sad, stay strong momma" and at that point I left just in time to put my sunglasses on! 3 days in a row! ...both of us ?...I know, pretty lame. But we survived the first week. My favorite part about Day 3, was Cole started BAWLING before we even left the house. I had been explaining to him for days at this point that I will ALWAYS pick him up and its just for a short time. Knowing that it was the last day of the week, I wrote on a piece of paper that he went to school on M-T-W and then was home with me for Th-F-Sa-Su. After this explanation, he proceeded to tell me that it was Saturday, not Wednesday. I would laugh and tell him that it was indeed Wednesday, to which he would say "no, Thursday, mom, Thursday." He then told me he NEEDED to go to the airport, and get dad, and go to the airport. I can't believe he is already coming up with excuses for not going to school! His teacher said he only cried about 5 minutes on day 3- though I still got (and still do get, actually) "I missed you at schoo, Mommy"

On a side note, when asked by his grandma if he liked school he said "Yes, I do" and then told her about all he plays and does.

Little stinker- I swear this kid plays me like a fiddle.

Tuesday, August 10, 2010

Trying to catch my breath...and just catch up!

Wow- I don't even know where to begin with all that's been going on around here...I figured out the other day that since the second week of July, I have been home 3 days! 3 days! and that includes a day that I spent over 9 hours in Phoenix. Needless to say- I have not had any time to keep up on blogging, so I am about to do a blog/picture overload- but I have to catch up!

With that being said, I am probably going to give the following subjects much less blogging fanfare than they deserve, but a girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do.

So let's get started....

After looking at Cole looking like this for too long...

Abe convinced me to give the little guy his first haircut.

It was pretty traumatic for both of us.

I will admit, it did look so much better when finished, but I don't think I will be cutting it again for a while (I want some of his curls to grow back, maybe-hopefully- even fill in!)

Cole also turned 3! I can't believe my baby boy is 3!!! We took him to his favorite, Fuddruckers, and he raced boats and shot moose all night long.

Surprisingly, when we got home, we asked what he wanted to do and his response was "pull weeds."

Weirdo!

We then gave Cole a garbage/trash themed birthday party- which, as always, I put way too much time, money, and effort into- but it was a lot of fun!

These were all my decorations. I made all the lanterns and garbage can paraphernalia, and the newspapers were abundant.

I also put all the chips/snacks in garbage cans...

...and made a garbage truck cake (as long as you didn't look too closely, it looked halfway decent.)

Our activity was a garbage pile bug search- complete with claw grabbers

I made Cole a shirt again this year, though I didn't get a good picture- you can kind of see it here, it says 'Trash Talker' under the garbage truck.

Cole did so well at blowing out his candles, that we had to relight them like 3 times! He kept blowing them out before we could sing, get pictures, etc...

I also made this little mural to go around the kitchen island, and paper pieced the houses together.

We had a Fabulous 4th and spent the evening watching fireworks off the deck, for probably the last time (one of the great benefits of living on a mountain top.)

We then spent 5 days in Phoenix, came home to get ready for 2 days, and then headed off to Utah with my family.

Here is how Cole kept entertained most of the trip...

We spent a day in Park City at the Bitner Family Ranch. Cole was totally in his element...

He really enjoyed the sheep through the fence.

Aaawww! A picture of Mommy and Cole (one of very few, ever!)

He didn't enjoy the sheep so much on his side of the fence...

While all this was going on, I was at the outlet mall across the highway on a very successful shopping trip.

We then had a barbecue with some of my dad's family. Cole wanted in on the volleyball action bad!

He got his turn!

And two bowls of homemade ice cream for all his hard work!

Cole also found ways of keeping himself entertained on yet another shopping excursion.

The ultimate reason we went to Utah was to drop off my youngest brother, David, at the Missionary Training Center (MTC) where he will prepare to serve a mission for the LDS church in Guatemala. While in Utah, David taught Cole to attempt to touch his nose with his tongue, which has become an obsession of Cole's (and which is what he was doing earlier in the clothing rack base). Here, they were doing it together.

After coming home from Utah, I spent a few hours at home, made a mad dash to Phoenix to do my friend's hair before she got married, and ran back home to prepare for 9 days in Michigan!

What was so nice about our Michigan trip was that there were no set plans. Besides making it to the Dining Hall in time for meals, the rest of the day was spent doing absolutely whatever! This year, the weather was great, so we were able to really enjoy the lake.

This was Cole's first time in the water.

He was quite unsure about going in...

Cole and his partner in crime (and hunting), Felix. Felix is one of Abe's cousins who lives in England.

Cole finally got off of the stairs.

And then he found why Higgins Lake is so fabulous. It is literally 2-2 1/2 feet deep for about the first 40 to 50 feet from shore, at which point it drops to a whopping 3-4 feet deep. At some point it does drop off to much, much deeper. It is an awesome lake for kids, since they have SOOO much space they can play in. (my depth ranges are just guesses, I couldn't find anywhere to give me exact figures)

Kayaking with Dad

Taking a rest on a raft

...and the dock

Here is Cole, Felix and Georgia making the pilgrimage to the dining hall.

Cole quickly learned that the best thing about the dining hall is the abundance of ice cream cones...

After lunch one day we took a walk and Cole decided to take a nap. He slept in his stroller on the screened in porch, with the lake breeze blowing in for like two and a half hours! Everyone was jealous!

Abe's dad, John, spent most of the trip in similar scenarios. He was such a good sport...

Cole would gather "hot nuts" (long story) for the squirrels and chipmunks and place them on the stoop of the deck. I would wait a while and then throw them to the wind and tell Cole that they had come and eaten them all *repeat* Much to my surprise, one day I actually caught a chipmunk eating them!

After two "sca-wee" firework displays in Utah, Cole began to warm up to them a bit

Cole also got to go play golf with his Dad and Gaga. Golf is his new favorite past time- I can't begin to tell you how many pictures I have from the last few weeks of this kid playing golf.

He really though he was one of the big boys...

He also did a little "work" with Dad

Cole and Felix spent much of the trip sharing their love of weaponry. They also went on several "hunting" excursions a day.

Cole even helped Abe light a few fireworks.

Family S'more time (there's a few neighbor kids there, too)

Cole getting his first taste of the Geupel Family Bongo Board...

Here is Cole driving the Ponta. *note that just about every child in the family has a picture, at about this age, similar to this. ** I also have to add that this was one of the most hysterical boat rides I've ever been on, for reasons too numerous to mention now, but it will definitely be one for the ol' memory bank.

All that driving was hard work...Cole spent the rest of the trip like this:

...and followed it up at dinner with this:

He actually fell asleep at the dining hall several times. We also celebrated Abe's birthday while we were there (along with his cousin, Ava, and aunt, Amanda). Unfortunately, I don't have any great pictures from his birthday (he got a cake and sang to at dinner), because right before we went to dinner, Cole suffered his greatest injury to date. Let's just say that a very large and heavy wooden rocking chair somehow made contact with his mouth, while his tongue was between his teeth. Let your imagination go, and you probably still won't be able to picture how gruesome it was. It's an absolute miracle that it didn't go all the way through (though, it came about as close as it possibly could to doing so!) That incident kind of put a damper on the whole evening, but fortunately, it has been healing quickly, and he is able to eat and drink normally again.

Like I said, I probably did none of these events the true justice they deserve. Things have been hectic, crazy, but ultimately fun. We have had a blast the last few weeks, and are now just trying adjust back to normality

Of course, our normality now involves school...but that will have to wait for another day.