Finally Finished

I've mentioned before that Aaron and I are the masters of beginning projects. What we haven't quite mastered is completion. It's embarrassing how long I've worked on this most recent project. And I've finally finished it. The planets had to align before it could be accomplished, but they finally did. I've been wanting something to fill up the huge empty wall alongside our staircase. I also wanted to bring a bit of color in to brighten up the stairwell since it can get quite gloomy. So I decided to take a cue from my kitchen and create a series of fabric wall hangings. I found a great brown and aqua striped fabric which would be perfect for tying in the dark brown of our home theater with the blue we have downstairs. The tan in the fabric also coordinated perfectly with our walls. So in FEBRUARY I purchased the fabric. Aaron built me 3 large rectangular frames out of 2x2s and I sanded them down. I used my handy dandy staple gun (most useful tool ever) to attach the fabric to two of the frames...and then I realized I had mismeasured. I didn't buy enough fabric and I was TWO INCHES short. So the project was put on hold. Eventually I made it back to Hancock Fabric, praying that they hadn't stopped carrying this particular fabric. They hadn't (but I didn't see it there today, so they might have by now), and I was able to pick up some more. Then I needed to iron the fabric to prepare it for the frames. However, the only opportunities I had to work on the frames were when Averi was in bed asleep. Averi sleeps in our closet, which is also where I keep the ironing board and iron. And, of course, I never remembered to leave it out before I put her to bed. Meanwhile, the half-finished art is sitting in the closet where we keep our DVDs, taking up way too much space. So Aaron finally took out the iron and ironing board, set it up in the middle of the bedroom, and told me that it was not to be put away until the frames were finished. Nothing like an ultimatum and a potential hazard to my health (the ironing board was directly in the path of the bathroom, so every night it remained there I ran the risk of breaking a toe or a neck) to give me the incentive to get working. So one night I finally had a chunk of time where I was unfettered by children or other projects. I ironed the fabric, got everything set up, and went to get the staple gun. Nowhere to be found. I spent at least half an hour searching for it to no avail. By that time dinner had to be made, so the project was abandoned for that day. After a few days of hunting, I eventually found the staple gun in the bottom of the gardening bag. I have no idea how it got there. So two days ago I re-ironed the fabric, got it fastened to the frame, fixed some flaws with the other hangings, and got them hung. Yay!!!! It looks so good to have something there. Unfortunately, it's a really hard area to get decent pictures of, so you'll just have to come and see for yourself. My favorite part about these hangings is that when I'm ready for a change, it's as simple as swapping out the fabric. Really, this project should only take a few hours (building the frame, ironing the fabric, stapling, hanging) from start to finish. It's extremely easy to do, and a very low-cost way to add some color and impact. (Please ignore all the folded laundry!) The final result! This picture gives you some idea of the HUGE space I was working with. I do have one word of advice for anyone attempting to do this: don't use stripes. It's extremely difficult to keep them from warping when you stretch the fabric across the canvas. You have to pull the fabric tight to keep it from wrinkling, but then the stripes bend, as you can see along the edges. It's not really noticeable at all on other large prints, so stick with those.

Where does one begin...

It's funny. When I haven't blogged in over a month, I always have a hard time knowing where to begin. So much happens in a month, but is it really worth catching up on ALL of it? So then I go into denial and do nothing. Like my journal writing. When you've had an additional 2 children since you've last written, where do you even begin? (I'm exaggerating, but only very slightly. Aaron, have we gotten married even in your journal?) I guess I'll start with the thing that has been consuming a great deal of our time: swimming lessons. For some reason, the city of Albuquerque has decided to go the intensive route. As in, EVERY DAY for 2 weeks solid. Actually, since we're doing the evening session, it's Monday to Thursday with slightly longer lessons, but it's still VERY intense. I don't know why they didn't do a 2 or 3 day a week thing that lasted longer. But there it is. Paul is true to self in the water. He is fearless. He loves jumping off the edge, holding his breath under water, and just about everything to do with the water. He truly is my son! Katie is also very typical. She's much more cautious, obeys exactly but no more than is requested (ask her to blow bubbles, and only her mouth and her nose go under), and she loves the games. We've got Paul in the parent/tot class, mostly because it allows us to cool off in the water too! We were told that he could advance to the preschool class, but that would me we would have to watch from the sidelines. Way less fun. Even though our evenings have been completely shot and it requires quite a bit of juggling since one of us has to watch Averi while the other is in the pool, we consider swimming lessons a resounding success. Both kids are so much more comfortable in the water than they were before and are starting to learn a few skills. I just can't wait until they're old enough to scuba dive with me! Then the fun will really begin!

Huge Milestone!

I just wanted everyone to know that Averi said her first word today! She learned how to wave bye-bye over the weekend, and she LOVES doing it. She'll even pick up my hand and shake it when she wants me to wave to her. Well, this evening, Aaron was holding her and I was waving, and when I asked her if she could wave bye, she said, "Buh." Aaron and I looked and each other, and asked her again to wave bye-bye. This time she said "Buh buh." And she looked pleased as punch. Now she says it every time we ask her if she can say bye-bye. So totally adorable. Summary of our kids' first words: Katie: dog Paul: granola bar (I promise, this was actually his first word. It's always about the food with him.) Averi: bye Notice there's not a mama or a dada in there. I refuse to ask myself what this indicates about my parenting. FYI: Averi's also cutting her first tooth. Such a big week for such a little girl!

Camping in Moab

We were planning on going down to Lake Mead this weekend to go boating and camping with Aaron's family, but on Wednesday morning (the day we were planning on leaving), we realized that the forecasted weather was extremely windy. If any of you have been boating, you'll know that boating in windy weather is next to impossible and no fun at all. I was SOOOOO disappointed. I love to be on the water, and wakeboarding is so much fun. I've also been feeling boating-deprived, since I've been VERY pregnant 3 out of the last 5 summers. So I was thrilled to be going, but then my hopes were dashed. I felt like the conversation between Anne and Marilla: MARILLA: You set your heart too much on frivolous things and then crash down into despair when you don't get them. ANNE: I know. I can't help flying up on the wings of anticipation. It's as glorious as soaring through a sunset. It almost pays for the thud. MARILLA: Well, maybe it does. But I'd rather walk calmly along and do without both flying and thud. Sorry, I couldn't help but referencing one of my favorite movies. Anywho... So we searched around ALL of the lakes that were within driving distance of both Salt Lake and Albuquerque (which is a very small number of lakes), and ALL of them had the same windy forecast. So we decided to abandon the boating plan in favor of camping in Moab. And I'm glad to say that we had an amazing time. We drove down on Thursday morning. Let me tell you, road trips with two barely potty-trained toddlers are a riot. We stopped for potty breaks about every hour, and each one took at least 15 minutes. And of course they were completely wired and didn't sleep at all (Paul may have slept for about half an hour, but my memory of that is hazy). Averi, as usual, was a gem. Since we had to stop so frequently, we were able to get her out of her carseat and hold her, which helped her to maintain her sanity. Friday was quite windy, so we scrapped our hiking/sand dune plans in favor of Dead Horse Point State Park and bowling. We also ate lunch/dinner (linner?) in town. Saturday was a bit calmer, so we drove into Arches and "hiked" to a few of the arches and then took the kids to the huge sand hill off the highway to play. Aaron had never been to Arches before (I don't know how he missed out on that one, since he's been to Moab with the Scouts several times) so that was a new experience for him, and the kids loved scrambling up the rocks and just being outside in general. Averi's favorite part was eating the dirt clods at the sand dune. She was furious whenever we took them out of her mouth. If you don't want to see tons of photos of my adorable family, I advise you to stop here. Otherwise, here are some of our many, many pictures: Averi after I took the Fresca away from her... The fam at the Monitor and Merrimack. See how windy it was? Dead Horse Point State Park Aaron in mortal peril... and Jake in even worse danger. Katie had better form than most of the adults. Katie thought she was the bee's knees with her super cool water bottle holder. At Balanced Rock. In front of Delicate Arch. Double Arch This was the first time we'd used the large child carrier, and it worked great! Paul informed us that hiking was really fun; it may have something to do with the fact that he did none of the work! The aftermath. Our car was completely filled with red sand! It's going to be so much fun to clean!

Flower Child

Averi looked so adorable in her dress today, so I thought I'd take her outside and get some pictures of her. But she was having none of it. So, budding photographer that I am, I thought, "Ah! A prop! That's all she needs. Then I will have the stunning photographs I've always dreamed off." So I got her a pretty yellow flower to hold and prepared for some amazing photos of her pondering the beauty of nature. Instead, she promptly ate it. And I let her. I think I'm a bad mom. I love those pictures. I also got some other good ones after she decided it wasn't worth fighting me; if she was very good, she might get to devour some more flora.

Marley and Me

I just finished Marley and Me, and I thoroughly loved it. I read it on the recommendation of my sister and mother-in-law; thanks, guys! It's been a while since a book has had me bawling. Now I'm torn between wanting a dog that my family can love and wanting to keep my house from looking like it's entered World War III. Fortunately, I have a husband who's already made that decision for me. I might be tempted to do something rash.

Woohoo! We're Number Two!

From All Financial Matters: Here’s a quick look at Kiplinger’s 10 Best Cities for Jobs. I’m surprised that only one city from Texas made the list. Click on each city to go to Kiplinger’s write-up on each city. No. 1: Huntsville, Alabama No. 2: Albuquerque, New Mexico No. 3: Washington D.C. No. 4: Charlottesville, Virginia No. 5: Athens, Georgia No. 6: Olympia, Washington No. 7: Madison, Wisconsin No. 8: Austin, Texas No. 9: Flagstaff, Arizona No. 10: Raleigh, North Carolina