On the Cover

Another Lucky magazine showed up in the mail and all I could do was laugh at it.

I was still laughing as I designed this magazine cover - it felt so good to laugh out loud that a few of my sisters and I are collecting a place to share the laughter and realities of being a mom.

It is still a work in progress but go ahead and check it out at The Mom Look.

"Eat, Sleep, Smile"

Since the laundry overtook me last week, I have not been able to sew.  In fact I think my sewing machine is still buried under some clothing items to be folded.  I've been frequently checking in on Marie's sewing projects with full envy.  So for a quick project fix and baby gift I once again pulled out the freezer paper.

  

These three characters read in Chinese "Eat, Sleep, Smile".  That is the wish I have for a very special baby (and her mother) today, the day of her birth.

Freezer paper stencils are actually quite simple.  What made these a bit tricky though was the intricacy and scale (1") of the characters.  I used a  shish kabob stick to help with the placement of the tiny freezer paper shapes.

 

2008 Tie Dyes!

We finally got to it! To make it especially fun this year we added a few new colors to our collection including chartruese, bright green, strong navy, and caribbean blue. They were bright and added just the right amount of contrast. Just like last year all supplies were purchased from dharma trading co. I especially like the quality of their boys t-shirts but did not have the best luck with last year's dresses for Maryanna and Clara. Instead, Becca and I have been working all year on collecting and saving all sorts of old stained white clothes that were tie dye worthy. Some were from garage sales and others just old hand-me-downs. Even the dirtiest of whites are worth saving when you are a tie dye addict. This year's theme was "nothing goes home white". Becca put herself to sleep one night just trying to count how many we did - I'm guessing 30+ but I'm sure Becca will correct me on it later.

For the most part we are happy with the results. One problem we faced was running out of the key secret ingredient, Sodium Alginate Thickener which prevents bleeding of the colors. So we did mostly tied scrunches with random color application - that is our no fail technique.

Here is the process:
1. mix dyes (Becca and James especially enjoyed this mad scientist part)
2. dampen garment and then twist, fold, scrunch, tie or sew in any design you wish
3. soak in soda ash
4. carefully apply dye (Becca had to tie dye her sweatshirt after this process)
5. wrap in plastic and let stand over night
6. wake up early (that is easy to do when you have tie dyes waiting - it feels like Christmas morning) and start rinsing and untying your creations
7. Run through a rinse cycle, hang dry and enjoy the color!

There is actually a bit more detail to the process but no need to bore you with the details. If seriously interested though please email me and I'd be happy to share. One more important tip: it is not a good idea to do tie dying when there are 12 young children awake and running around (see Bear Lake lowlights). It is a good activity for kids when there is a higher adult to child ratio if not wait until they are asleep or > 8 years old.

Arts and Crafts at the Beach

10 am - 6:30 pm is a long time to spend at the beach so we literally "mixed things up a bit" with this activity. I think the original idea came from family fun but Emily was the one who planned and executed it, she is great at coming up with memorable activities for kids.

Here's the process:

Tell the kids to go on an adventure to collect things from the beach. We found bottle caps, shells, rocks, sticks, straws, ponytail holders, pens, pieces of plastic, and grass.

Dig out a small shape in the sand and decorate with found objects. We also did foot prints and hand prints. James wanted to be different and designed fruit - one apple and one banana.

Mix plaster - this was not an exact science at the beach. The mixture hardens up pretty quickly so you have to pour into your molds fast.

Wait...and play on the beach - we waited about 2 hours.

Dig them up and wash them off.

Carefully transport them home. I had a pile of footprints, hand prints, fruit, and faces sitting up top on my dashboard. We now have them resting in our front garden bed.

I'm sure my kids will be begging to do this again the next time we visit the beach. In the meantime though we maybe able to just do it in the back of our car because not only is it full of "found objects" but there are piles of sand!

Dress-Up Closet

Before last weekend the storage space under our stairs was full of all sorts of junk! I've been cleaning out and decided to tackle this closet which seemed to be a holding zone for things I just didn't know what to do with. There were several boxes of Christmas and Holiday decorations, baby gear that I forgot to use and pull out for the last two babies, loose luggage, Paul's old baseball cards, and a box of random stuff from college. We put the luggage up on hooks in our utility room, down sized my holiday decorations to 3 boxes, gave away the baby gear I haven't used in years, pulled out a few treasures from the college box then threw out the rest, put a few of Paul's baseball trophies up on our mantel (the boys love them) and I'm still waiting for Paul to find a spot for his box of baseball cards. Cleaning out is invigortating! It helps me think a bit more clearly, breathe a bit more deeply, and enjoy the real things in my life - my family. It also keeps my spending and accumulating in check. The last thing I want to do after cleaning out a closet is buy something.

So here is our new "dress-up closet"....the whole space which wraps around and goes under the steps is dedicated to the kids and their imaginations. Where the ceiling gets low Peter named "the fort" and he has set up a pillow and blanket to relax there. The front half which is more accesible is lined with hooks on both sides with a mirror mounted horizontally just above the hat hooks. There is also a vertical mirror mounted on the inside of the door. At the back of our closet there are several buckets full of accessories such as shoes, weapons, googles and whatever else won't fit on our hooks. We also have a few empty suitcases that the kids like to use on their "adventures".

Dress-up is fun - even for boys. In fact, the majority of our dress up was collected before we had our girls. Most of the items have been picked up at garage sales, handmade, or given to us from others.

Here are some of our favorites:
2 sets of boxing gloves
Michigan football helmet and uniform
Astronaut suit
Chef hat and apron
Old wooden cane
Orca suit
Knight's armor
Davey Crocket hat

In the spirit of Pioneer Day today Clara is sporting an old bonnet my Dad bought me as a child visiting Lancaster, PA and an apron made by my great grandma. She is also holding a toy blood pressure meter. It is fun to see the combos they come up with and even more fun to ease drop on their play.

Catching up to Daddy

For a couple of months I've been wondering if Peter and William's clothes were shrinking. We just recently checked and marked our growth chart and discovered it was them - not their clothes that were changing. These boys both experienced quite a growth spurt in the past six months and I guess that also accounts for all the food we are going through. Just this morning we went through a dozen eggs, a loaf of bread, bunch of bananas, a box of LIFE cereal and half a gallon of milk in one meal! That is not including Paul and I. Paul was off early to work and since our prepared meal was already consumed before I could sit down I resorted to some leftover spaghetti and meatballs for breakfast (actually it tasted great and when you're hungry and nursing you'll pretty much eat anything). I'm just starting to wonder what my food bill will look like when these kids are teenagers.

As for the growth chart, I made it almost two years ago out of some scrap lumber, scrapbook paper and decoupage glue. One side displays standard measurements and the other metric because for some reason the boys are sticking to metric. Using a sharpie we mark it twice a year for each child.

Both Paul and I grew up charting our growth on a specific wall. Nowadays families tend to move around a bit more so our children's "wall" had to be transportable. Another unique feature of this growth chart is it reaches above 6 1/2 feet tall just in case they actually do catch up to their Dad. If they do it will be worth recording because it is still fun for me to visit Paul's Mom's laundry room and see his growth of 7" in just one year!

On a side note, today Cathy asked me what projects I've been up to. I told her, just one - growing kids, so I thought I should blog about it.

Overdue Projects

I'm almost 10 days overdue for delivery but the project we finished last night was pushing 3 years overdue. We finally unpacked our last box from Charlotte which was full of prints and pictures to be framed and hung. Paul did an excellent job completing the task while I sat in a chair eating spicy wasabi peas and seaweed snacks.

The Chinese characters read "familes are forever" so that is what we call the arrangement on this wall. Also included is the Proclamation on the Family and both group and individual shots. I am amazed how much the kids have enjoyed gazing over all the pictures and kind of wish I had the drive to complete this earlier. But I am glad we got this project done and now hope to finish moving in completely. I suppose if it were possible for me to go overdue a couple more weeks we may even make some progress on our landscaping as well.

On a side note I have been out and about all day yard-saling, strolling Red Butte Garden with the kids, shopping, hiking, and then to Red Iguana. Still no action but I must be pretty big because I attracted quite a few double takes while out in public. Also, my sister advised me to put a waterproof pad on my bed in case my water broke. I wish I took her advice because when I got back from shopping I discovered Maryanna had dumped a bucket of water on my bed.

Anyone can Clean

It is time to clean the house .... AGAIN. I guess the nesting will stop once the baby arrives but in the meantime I have enlisted the help of everyone in the home.

Those who know me well know that Don Aslett is one of my heros. You can imagine how excited I was when a Don Aslett cleaning center was opened right here in UT. It was worth the drive to South Jordan to pick up all sorts of great cleaning supplies like these dust mops, squeegees, and microfiber cleaning cloths. Maryanna is wearing one of the baby sized dust mitts I sewed out of a microfiber cleaning cloth. And don't worry she was safe standing on the back of the couch.

When I was little I remember my mom pouring sudsy water around the kitchen floor then giving each child a couple of rags to put on our feet so we could "ice skate" around the kitchen floor. It worked! We thought we were playing while we were actually helping and cleaning. Here are some of the games I now play with my own kids.... dust mop racing, dirty dust mitt contests, vaccum tag, and clean the shark's teeth (wiping down the ladder back kitchen chairs).

I was once criticized for making my children work. I was told "children should not be the servants in a home...they should instead be given opportunities to be enriched - you should hire a maid". Well.... I have had a cleaning lady in the past because the fact is the kids don't do the best cleaning and I myself am unable to do it all. But I do believe in getting children to work. I was inspired by Merrilee Boyack and her ideas in this book. In addition was lucky to have a few personal consulting sessions with Marie Ricks - that was a great Christmas present!

So you all can have a good laugh imagining me, even bigger than I was here, scrubbing bathroom floors, changing bedding, and hauling all sorts of laundry around the house. My friend Marie' was right when she told me..."awaiting the arrival of a baby is a lot like selling your house, you always got to be ready and the house cannot get messy". Well at least keeping the house in order keeps me somewhat distracted.

Art Therapy

I am running out of projects to finish. I also admit that I am feeling big, immobile and a bit restless.

I started taking an art class in 2005 to help relieve some of the stress from our home remodel. It was great therapy for me. So I showed up at art class on Saturday after almost an 8 week break and not only was I able to enjoy the company of fellow classmates (ages 9-60) but I finally finished this watercolor painting. I started it in September but have been slow to finish since my only time to paint is at art class. Unlike sewing, it is very difficult for me to multi-task and take care of kids while immersed in an art project. Probably because it is messier and takes more of my brain capacity. When doing art I have to completely "check out" which is why I rarely have a chance to do it and also why I enjoy it so much.

I was once told "mothers with five young children should not be taking an art class". I think that is completely false! Some mothers like to go shopping, go to lunch, get their nails done, why shouldn't I go to an art class once a week? I think it is important to be recharged and have an outlet outside the home.

The picture I painted is from a photograph I took of William and Peter looking down at the fish pond at Red Butte Garden. Upon returning home I pulled out the kids unfinished foamcore paintings. They like using acrylic since the colors are vibrant and more fun to mix than kids' washable paints. Paul joined in to help James finish his squares and realized he had not painted since elementary school. So we all got to enjoy a little art therapy this weekend.

Master Schedule Board

Back to my practical self. This is a project I originally did with Mary when my life was a bit simpler with only three kids. It is now time for a new and improved schedule board. The creation of this system was inspired by the concepts in this book .

The background is just a plumbing sheet picked up at Home Depot. The little icons were designed on power point, printed out on cardstock, laminated and attatched by a small piece of magnetic tape. I will note it would have been wise to color code each individual but there was too much arguing amongst the boys as to who got which color. I'm confident it will still work and especially be helpful to those who take over when I finally do have the baby.

I still have half the plumbing sheet open to post up meal plans, job charts, and other useful info like weekly vocab words and individual goals.

The idea is to promote self initiative and eliminate dawdling and whining by the kids and nagging on my part. Some may argue that such a schedule may be stifling but I believe it gives us more freedom. The kids are content knowing what is expected and more likely to perform their tasks quickly knowing afterwards they will have free time. All in all being on a good routine makes us all more efficient and leaves more time to do what we really want to do.

I will not say that every day runs smoothly, especially with the combination of 2 very spirited girls too young to understand the concept. But it does help me establish order in a home that could easily turn to chaos. I will also add that since I have never had a real career it is fun to take my role as a mother and homemaker very seriously.

Thank You Mr. Building Inspector

This bookshelf was built to meet building codes for Maryanna's bedroom windows. I had the option of digging out the window well and cutting down the window or having a piece of furniture installed that would act as a ladder in case of an emergency. Getting this piece of furniture built and installed was a lot more fun and way less expensive than the first option.

Here is the original design idea. I think the guys at pragmatic design lab did an excellent job! I have a bunch more projects that I'd like them to do as I've been spending way too time browsing for ideas at 1stdibs.com. Next project - maybe a new bench for our entryway.

Keeping Clara happy

Xiao Xia (our old babysitter and Chinese tutor) helped me start this project before Clara was even born. However, it was shoved to the top back of her closet admist the chaos of having a new baby. I just recently found it thanks to my E.E.E. plan. We should get a few months enjoyment out of it before the new baby boy arrives - the boys hope to replace it with some frogs and fish orgami as the pink cranes seem too girly. Clara clearly loves it and we can hear her in her crib saying "birdie, birdie". What is even more amazing is the way their shadows dance just around 4:00 when its time to get her out of her crib.

Next time we will not use 12x12 cardstock as it was a bit heavy and hard to balance properly. Also the cardstock was quite difficult to fold and we encountered a few tears in our cranes. I'm on the hunt for some cool orgami paper for the boy version of this mobile.

E.E.E.

Everything has been put on hold this past week. No sewing, no homeschool, no field trips, and no homemade bagels. With the help of an amazing woman, Marie Ricks , we have begun to sort through some to the chaos and clutter of a busy home. Here is the plan:

Everything out
Eliminate
Essentials back in

The goal is for me to get through every cupboard, closet, nook and cranny of our home before the baby is born in hopes to up my efficiency and clarity of mind. The process was quite overwhelming and a bit emotionally draining at first but I think I've got the hang of it and now feels almost addicting and invigorating. Pictured above is "everything out" of just a few kitchen cupboards. I have found that 50% of the items I have been storing in easy access areas or as Marie calls them "A zones" are non essentials. About 10% was just plain trash, 15% DI worthy so now the essentials have plenty of breathing room and are right at hand when I need them.

One mistake I made was to cook tacos at the same time everything was out. It took a lot of deep breaths to get through the clutter mixed with ground hamburger and shredded cheese. Paul was a great support and said it reminded him of the good ol' days when the Wirthlin family kitchen was running at full capacity.

To Dye For!

The boys are all around hovering over this message and a bit nervous because they are taking the title very literally. Well these clothing items aren't really to die for but maybe worth losing a little bit of sleep for. We became quite obsessed and completed over a 100 items for family and friends. It is a messy task so most of the work was done after hours between 10:00 pm and 2:00 am so that no babies or toddlers would disrupt the process and then completely dye themselves and whatever they came into contact with as well. It felt like Christmas every time we opened and rinsed a new article of clothing......oh the joy of vibrant colors! If your life is feeling dull just slip on a tie dye t-shirt and awaken to a happy and carefree world. James has requested to do this again next spring. I don't know if I can wait that long. I think we may try batik in the meantime. FYI - I got the inspiration from Dharmingtradingco.com