Christmas Card Challenge 2007

We have been busy with so many holiday projects. Homemade gifts, cookies, hand dipped chocolates, 2007 DVD slide show and Christmas cards. The Christmas card has been the biggest challenge. When we had two kids our cards were out the day after Thanksgiving....I think it has gotten later and later each year. This year I'll be happy if I send them out by Monday.

Half the challenge of it was taking a family picture. Hope you enjoy the reality of it in these photos. I finally gave up on the self timer and got my Dad to shoot one of us in his backyard. I think you all should recieve it in about a week. Next year I'll either send a "reality card" or hire a professional photographer. How my parents got our family picture with 17 kids.... I have no idea. That was even before the days of photoshop and swaping out heads.

Picture #1- Red Butte Garden after taking all the kids "home school pictures" thankfully all their individual shots turned out great!
Picture #2 - 4th of July up at Bear Lake with my first set of tie-dyes
Picture #3- Wirthlin family Olympics
Picture #4- Decorating the Christmas tree after church

Even better than TV

We picked up this HUGE map from IKEA a few days ago. It is so big we don't really know where to put it. In the meantime it has been leaning up against the wall in our kitchen. The kids have enjoyed it so much that we may leave it there. James and William spent about 2 hours infront of it one morning just talking about all the cool places in the world. You can see how they set little chairs up infront. I think the map looked cool but I am delighted at all the entertainment it provides as well.

HappyDecember! Happy Snow!

Christmas decorations go up early here in Utah. Yesterday Peter asked "why does everyone think it is December except for us"? I spent about a week recovering from our fun trip to Michigan and then the stomach flu so I told the kids we couldn't get the Christmas stuff out until December. So today's the day. To add to the festivities we woke up to piles of snow. Paul got to test out my Dad's new toy this morning - he may become the next "Mr. Plow".

To add to all the activity James starts ski school this morning up at Brighton. Later, we'll meet my siblings in Deer Valley for a little party then head over to Heber to ride the Polar Express. What a perfect day for fresh snow!

Sewing projects for babies

Here are a few of the sewing projects that were on hold as I finished William's fish costume. The long sleeve bibs/smocks are from the Japanese pattern book Marie' sent me. Just in time for Thanksgiving and all sorts of holiday feasts and Jell-O salads, these bibs will save me from the annoying task of spot washing. They are backed with waterproof fabric and will be easy to toss in the wash unless I think they are too cute themselves and feel the urge to spot wash them.

Then we have Clara showing off my second homemade cloth diaper. The first one I sewed was just as cute, a soft pink velour but was soiled before I could catch a photo. I made both as pocket diapers because they dry so much quicker. The outer fabric is lined in PUL to make it completely waterproof and the inside is a soft organic cotton/bamboo fleece. I am still working on the perfect soaker pad (which sits inside the pocket). The ones I made where 2 layers of organic Hemp jersey with 4 layers of diaper flannel sandwhiched in between. They were fine in the day but did not do the job overnight. I may stick with the micro fiber fuzzi bunz inserts and just sew my own super cute diapers. The only problem with this diaper is it is Maryanna's favorite and she always wants to wear it. I guess I should just make her one in a training pant style.

Cloth Diapers

I made the big switch to cloth diapers early in September and after two months I am convinced it has been a wise choice. In this picture Clara is sporting a cute pink "all in one" and Maryanna is showing off her favorite "organic cotton" pull up.

Here is a short list of my pros.

-They are gentler on Clara's sensistive bum
-It is better for the enviroment
-I will save $
-They are so cute!
-They helped Maryanna Potty train (because of less absorbancy she could recognize the feel of pee)
-They are very user friendly

On the other hand here are a few con's

-I may end up spending more money because they are so fun to sew
-I am unsure how I would use them while traveling on a long trip

I would love to offer support and info for anyone who is interested in such a transition. With all these babies coming I'm curious who will be the next to switch over. I'll just have to keep sewing some super cute ones then I'll be sure to get you all hooked.

Happy Halloween

Here is our crew of trick-or-treaters. We have Paul as a Utes football coach, James the spider, William the fish, Peter the lion, Maryanna the chicken, and Clara the bunny. After 2 hours of trick-or-treating they ended up with a pile of candy weighing 9 lbs. 1 oz. We counted 174 pieces and James is anxious to produce a bar graph to display the variety.

As for the costumes and jack-0-lanterns we pulled them off without a minute to spare. William's fish costume was quite challenging to sew because of the 4" foam. I broke so many needles that I had to sew it with sunglasses on to protect my eyes. I then began to have concerns for my sewing machine and opted for the painful task of sewing it by hand. It took several more days than anticipated and I now have a nice callous on my finger. It was worth it though for my little ocean lover William. Also, its one size fits all so Paul wore it to work for some good laughs. James' costume was simple enough. We stuffed some tights and stitched them on quickly before he was out the door for trick-or-treating. He said he did not get as much attention for his costume as William but didn't mind because he felt like "a master of disguise" creeping in the dark wearing just black. As for Paul, I promised him a Ben Franklin costume years ago. I haven't even started it yet but in the mean time he was pretty creative pulling off the coach look. Now he has an excuse to buy some more Michigan gear for next year's Halloween. We can thank Old Navy for the other three costumes!

Funny funny Peter

Here are a few more funny ones. He never stops talking until he finally falls asleep. Here he is - finally asleep- on the bench at the top of our stairs.

"Mommy how do batteries work? Is our heart kind of like a battery?"

"Mommy I need someone to teach me how to fall asleep"

"Mommy I feel so sad.....I'm just not strong enough yet"

"I like to rub soap and water on my tummy and man nipples to make them look stronger"