I'm an idiot

It was in my computer the whole time. I must have taken out my card while leaving the reader behind. Without the card sticking out you can't even tell it is in. Oh brother.

this past week

+ catching up on my boy's photo albums and my scrapbook. Almost there.

+ babysitting a few neighbor kids for 3 days while their parents are in Hawaii.

+ cleaning out and organizing my closet.

+ planting more plants and trees in my yard.

+ telling Owen that lipstick, mascara and red peep toe heels on a boy is a no in our house.

+ trying to keep all keys away from Chase as he has realized that any skinny metal object shoved into the keyhole and twisted will open Scott's office door.

+ finished reading The Help. Very much enjoyed it. Have started re-reading The Book Thief for my book club. Love this book!

+ sat through a few soccer games for Taylor and Owen.

+ had a discussion with one of the boys on the merits of showering regularly oh and another discussion with another boy about washing hands after using the bathroom oh and another discussion about changing your underwear daily. All very good ideas.

+ deciding that one of Owen's friends is only bringing out the naughty in him. May not encourage playdates with this one in the future.

+ repeatedly saying to a couple of the boys that a healthy breakfast does not include a cookie.

+ Still looking for that card reader. I'm thinking it is a goner.

Bits & Pieces

From April to July I just looked longingly at my book supplies wishing that I had time to make a few. But I forced myself to stitch and stitch only. After I finished that project I wandered around the house for a week wondering what to do with myself and then I got crafty.

I have been wanting to try a buttonhole stitch book for awhile. So instead of making one I made three. I also decided that I would make these books into gratitude journals with quotes and scriptures like this scattered throughout the book.



And I really wish I could show you the books, I really do. They turned out so nice. But, these books will be gifts and I would hate to have the recipient see the entire book before the gift is even given. So I will just show you bits.

This is my girly book. I love it. The beading on the spine was fun to do.



I like that I can walk down practically any aisle in a craft store and find something to use on a book. These beads came from the jewelry section. Don't they match perfectly?



And when you really want to go out on a limb you make your own bead. Sure it won't hold up to everyday wear and tear on clothes, but with some PVA and varnish, it works beautifully for a book.



I really can't decide which one I like the best.

ps Has anyone seen my card reader? It has somehow disappeared and I have to use my camera on my phone until I find it. I've got my suspicions on Chasey, but he isn't letting on that he knows anything.

Braces

Yes, it is hard to believe he is old enough to already have these on. Back in my day, you didn't see the orthodontist until all of your permanent teeth were in and were a mangled mess. Then you would get your braces on and wait for years until your teeth became untangled. That is old school. Now they prefer to do it in phases.

In Taylor's case, where his teeth are going to be mangled to the max, he will wear braces for about a year to make room for the rest of his permanent teeth to come in. Then the braces come off for a year or two and are replaced by a retainer. When everything is in he will get braces again to finish the straightening. This will reduce the amount of time he will need them, especially when he gets older and wants them off.

He was so excited to get them and he loves showing them off! Well what ten year old wouldn't right?

Finished!

And a month early at that!






And now I will officially announce that I am retiring from cross-stitching for the rest of my life. I'm done.

How good can syrup be?

While I was up at girl's camp I overheard one of the leaders excitedly saying that one of the other leaders brought up her syrup. Syrup? Syrup is good but how good can it be to drag it up to camp? I found out. We had it on french toast and on crepes. I was practically licking it off my plate. I have since made it at home just to see if it really was that good or if it was the sleep deprivation that was messing with my taste buds. It really was as good as I remember. You know how eating muffins is just a sneaky way to eat cake for breakfast? This so-called syrup is really like caramel sauce. But you can't have caramel sauce for breakfast without feeling guilty, so we call it syrup.

So if you are looking at making something special on a Sunday morning, give this a try. I promise you won't regret it.

Buttermilk Syrup

1 cube butter
1 1/2 c. sugar
1 c. Buttermilk
dash of salt

Combine and boil for 1 minute. Watch carefully so it doesn't boil over. Remove from heat.

Whisk in
1 t. vanilla flavoring
1 t. maple flavoring
1 t. baking soda

When you add the baking soda, the amount of syrup triples so watch it carefully.

Great Quiet Activity

Now that Scott has to sit on the stand during sacrament, it is up to me to try and keep 4 boys relatively quiet and still for 65 minutes. That is impossible. I find myself hauling out Owen and Chase between 35-40 minutes after the meeting starts. That is my limit.

The other day I was thinking that maybe I need to update my diaper bag with new toys that will hopefully keep them occupied and quiet a little bit longer. I then remembered years ago seeing a kid using flannel board Gospel figures on the back of the pew that was right in front of him. They stick to the fabric that covers the pew and there is a fair amount of surface area for a lot of figures. Genius I tell ya.

So I start looking around on the internet for these figures. I found some for $15 a story. No way am I paying that amount. I will figure out how to do them myself. After a few more minutes looking I found 2 blogs that tell you how to make them and they have the figures that you can download too. Isn't the internet wonderful?

So I went to Walmart, spent about $10 and now I have enough stuff to make 6 stories. Genius I tell ya. I took some to church today and Chase was quite entertained hanging them up. I got a whole 8 more minutes out of him! Plus as an extra bonus I can use them for FHE.

Here are the 3 that I have done so far.





And here are the links to make them. Have fun!

http://chocolateonmycranium.blogspot.com/2007/11/flannel-board-stories.html

http://alittleofthis---alittleofthat.blogspot.com/2010/01/felt-figure-fun.html