Eva is 2!

Our little miracle baby is two! There were definitely times while I was pregnant with her I thought this day would never come to be, but here we are, blessed as ever to know and love this little munchkin.

At two Eva is full of spirit and life and well on her way to living up to the terrible two reputation. No, really she just has a few moments of frustration and agitation mixed in with her mostly good moments. We just go with the flow around here.

Since no obvious theme inspired me this year, I just made a big #2 cake. I even cut a few corners and used a box mix and frosting, and low and behold, everyone thought it was tastier than ever. But when is this momma going to learn how to use her auto-focus points and focus on her beautiful babies instead of those candles? Argh. I don't know how many photos I have of the sweetest blurry expressions.  

At this age you tend to rely mostly on family parties since, you know, they often don't yet have a full entourage of friends their age. We brought it down to her level though with these two cute little red heads (my cousin's twins.)

Don't you love the addition of the hog wire on our deck? It sure gives us peace of mind when little kiddos like this are out there... until we have a time to build a permanent railing.

Eva's favorite gift by far was this little drum set. 

She even knew exactly what to do with it. It came with some other noise makers also, but the drums were her favorite. I'm pretty sure this is the kind of gift you give when you don't like the parents. This was from her Grandpa and Grandma though, so I think they were just paying me back for all the years they had to listen to me play "Heart and Soul" on the piano until I got it just right. :)

Now for a few 2-year milestone updates:

I mentioned in a post a ways back that Eva has had a tremor/shake, so I wanted to follow up with an update. While it was never super obvious, our pediatrician noticed it at her 18-month well child visit and asked if we would like to have her evaluated by a neurologist. Thus began a long, drawn-out process. We made an appointment with a neurologist and waited nearly 6 months to see him. At first he recommended waiting and doing nothing, but after evaluating her for awhile, he said that her tremor was definitely more than he likes to see and he recommended doing an MRI. At least another month passed before we were able to have that done, and another week before we had results. The waiting game certainly wasn't fun, but I didn't ever feel too worried since her tremor always seemed really subtle and wasn't getting worse. The MRI process wasn't exactly fun either, as she had to be put under for the test. All went smoothly, however, and the results came back normal. They then backtracked a bit and recommended doing blood tests (normally the first course of action), but those returned normal as well. Perhaps she had some nerve damage from the pregnancy and will just grow out of it...? We may never know. In the end, we have a bruised pocket book and some peace of mind. 

Eva loves more than anything to be outside and explore. Unfortunately, the mosquitoes are terrible on the farm, and even worse, they love all the females in our family. We also seem to be quite allergic, and poor little Eva has been reacting to every little bite she gets. I hate deet, but I also hate being a prisoner in my house. We may have to resort to spraying the yard to minimize them, but if anyone has suggestions for safe organic repellent that actually works, please share the love!

We haven't introduced Eva to the potty yet, but we did buy a little one and are starting to hint in that direction. I sure wouldn't mind a smooth and speedy transition in that department. 

Eva is a great little talker and entertainer. She counts really well—skips a few numbers—but makes it to 10 and even beyond. Her favorite song to sing is "Twinkle twinkle". I just have to leave you with this funny little video we captured of her walking up to the camera tripod and using it as a microphone—like it had been left there just for that purpose. 

a hail storm

If you follow me on Twitter or Facebook, you would have seen a smattering of photos about a storm we had on Monday evening. There was quite a bit of buzz about it because it wasn't just any storm.

We were eating dinner at my parent's house when it started to get really dark outside and eerily quiet. We knew a storm was coming—we were watching it on radar from our phones—and it looked like the red center of the storm was heading straight for our area.

After we ate we gathered on the porch to watch the storm approach. There was thunder and lightning and looming clouds, and they seemed to be oddly rotating. Our vantage point was towards the south, and the storm was coming more from the southwest.

Then it started hailing. At that point we all wondered if we should go move our vehicles inside, but it was a bit late for that. We would have been pelted by hail stones. 

Most of the hail was larger than marble size, with the occasional golf-ball size stone mixed in. In the end, the worst part was how steady, thick, and sideways the hail was. It rained hard for quite awhile after, then hailed some more, as if the storm was circling back. We went to the back of the house where it was hitting the hardest and the noise was deafening. There was a broken window pane on that side of the house.

Back at home we inspected the damage:

A couple of windows were broken out in the shop, and the flower beds were flattened. The rain gauge held over 2-1/2 inches of rain.

Holes in the swimming pool... and a gnome casualty. But mostly minor stuff.

The next day we had another similar storm*, but this time the main swath went east of us. We still ended up with another nearly 3 inches of rain. That is more than 5 inches in 2 days, which is pretty much unheard of this area. *Links to an interesting Weather Channel video, while it lasts.

As we inspected the damage the following day we found a few more things. All of the skylights were busted in our camper trailer, one of them breaking the latch and opening up so the mattress and a slew of blankets and sleeping bags below it were completely soaked. 

The basement guest room has water in one corner, so the carpet is now pulled back to dry it out. The downspout on the rain gutter had been disconnected and didn't drain far enough away from the house.

Speaking of rain gutters, our new gutters are now dented long the front side of our house.

We will need to have an adjuster look at our roof as well. It is less than two years old and doesn't look too terrible, considering.

Surprisingly, our cars didn't fair too badly. There are a few dents in my hood and along one side, but it is hardly noticeable. I thought Tom's mirror had a nice-sized hole from hail—until he informed me that he accidentally shot it while aiming for a gopher. Ha! 

It was my plants that showed the most damage. The seedum (left) looks like it was chewed on and the tomato plant (right) was stripped of most of its leaves, even semi-protected under the eaves of the house.

The yard is covered with bits of the trees. But hello—could be so much worse, right?

The thing is, if my yard plants look like this, you know it can't look good for the crops. I'm afraid the farmers in our area suffered significant damage. This once beautiful winter wheat field now looks very scraggly. (Wish I had a before picture to show you.) If you look along the horizon, that stand of wheat should look very even and thick. Instead you see scattered wheat heads sticking up.

Up close, you can see the heads bent sideways and stems snapped. This field will probably be considered 90% damaged, and others totaled.

If a winter wheat crop is totalled or adjusted as mostly damaged, it won't be harvested at all. It will likely be sprayed out so it won't continue to sap nutrients from the soil. If the field can be sprayed out before June 15th it can be considered summer fallow for the year, meaning it can be planted with winter wheat again next year. Two years without income on a field is hard to endure. The thing is, the field must be adjusted first, and the insurance adjusters (as you can imagine) are quite busy at the moment. 

Some of our own winter wheat was planted later than our neighbor's, and some if hasn't "headed out" yet. It may fair better than those further along, however, a bruised stem can produce a head that just curls up on itself and doesn't form good kernels. Time will tell.

Spring crops (those planted in the spring) should fair better because they are younger, smaller plants. We planted a lot of spring crops this year. In fact, we have 8 different crops in the ground: winter wheat, spring wheat, peas, lentils, mustard, canola, barley, and alfalfa. The farmers around here, who mostly only grow only wheat, may think we are crazy. But when you are hit with a disaster like this, diversification can be a very good thing. 

One of our spring crops is mustard, and it is the first year we have grown it. Unfortunately, we won't know its full potential:

It looks pretty hammered and there are many broken stems. We aren't sure if it will recover, but most certainly it will decrease yields. 

Driving around the farm can make you a bit sick to your stomach, and you might imagine the farmers wallowing in a bit of self pity right now. But really, they shrug their shoulders and move on. They just pull up their boot straps and figure it is just their turn this time. They are thankful it doesn't happen every year. Thankful it wasn't worse. Thankful they stomached the painful insurance premiums yet again because it has saved their hide before. 

Most farmers carry multi-peril insurance on all their crops. Some also carry additonal hail insurance. My dad fortuitously purchased hail insurance on our winter wheat the day of the storm. Hopefully the insurance payments will be enough to cover the expensive spray and fertilizer bills. And hopefully the unheard of 5 inches of rain will help make up for it in other places. 

But did I already mention we were thankful it wasn't worse? That is because photos like this were circulating around Facebook after the storm:

Photo credits go to Roger Hill, a professional storm chaser. Not sure how he managed to be in the right place at the right time. He calls the storm a "super-cell" (definition here).

This photo was taken around Loma, which is a few miles northeast of us. Probably right after it went right over our heads. We didn't see the storm from afar, but we certainly could see the rotating clouds. If we'd seen this before it hit we might have been hiding in the basement. If you watch the links in the previous paragraph you'll understand why.

all stitched up

Hi there! And how are you on this fine Monday in June? (June? What?)

At our house, we finished up school (Friday before Memorial Day) and summer is officially in full swing. The sudden lack of schedule has sent me into a bit of a tailspin, really. I'm not sure how to function. The upside is that now that I don't have the daily bus runs and calendar of after-school activities, so I'm feeling a bit more able to tackle projects.

World's most inconsistent blogger here. I set myself a goal to blog 3 days a week (for the few of you who take the time to come here, I'd like to actually give you something interesting to read), but frankly, last week I just didn't have the motivation to blog. I seem to go in spurts. Sometimes I want to blog and share, and other times I just want to get to work creating things to blog and share. The two don't seem to happen simultaneously very well. But I digress.

Projects... last I wrote I showed you these lovely fabrics I had just begging to made into something beautiful:

I'm happy to report that might sewing machine was dusted off and put to work. I asked you to guess what they were for. Don't you just love guessing games? Ha. I don't.

But if you guessed "window treatments", you were right. Here's a peek.

Unfortunately I'm not quite ready to give you a true reveal because I still need to tackle the caulking and painting of the window trim before I hang the new panels. The curtains are for the windows in our kitchen/dining room. Tom finally found a few spare minutes to put the trim up last week, and now he is handing the baton to me. I confess painting trim isn't my favorite job.

As for the other fabric, I had other plans. I've had the fabric for a long time, intended for reupholstering a chair I acquired for free in the mother-of-all-storage-unit finds on Craig's list. This is what it looked like before:

It's a pretty cute little Danish number that beige blah fabric did not do justice too. It was stapled on sloppily and the seat wasn't attached for lack of proper screws, I suppose. 

I stapled the new fabric on, then used the old fabric and some ribbon trim to finish off the underside—you know, in case the little mouse under my chair cares.

Now the chair has a sunny new disposition.

Easiest project ever. Not sure why the fabric sat unused for so long. I had a bit left over so I made some little curtains for the playhouse under the stairs. A perfect accessory for puppet shows and the like.

More projects are in the works, so check back soon!

Feng Shui Friday—Do you decant?

To find out how you can join the Feng Shui Friday challenge, click here.

via Design Sponge

I recently posted this image of the beautiful pantry of the Emerson, the founder of Emerson Fry (formerly emersonmade). It makes my heart go pitter patter with it's uniformity. However, I knew full well when I posted it that my own pantry would never look like this. The only way to have a pantry like this is to decant everything into beautiful (and probably expensive) containers. It's a case where practicality must outweigh beauty. I need a pantry with closed doors.

However, it brings up a good point. Is decanting practical?

I believe it is, at least in some cases. I'm giving it a try in my new kitchen:

I eliminated a lot of upper cabinets in favor of a more open feel and to accommodate a range hood and open shelves. That means this remaining upper cabinet must perform double duty. It is right above my baking/prep space, and also above my coffee maker/drink station. 

I chose to decant most of my baking ingredients. I also have my oils and vinegar in tall narrow cruets (the oils are kept on a shelf above the stove). So far this system seems to be working really well for me. 

So why decant?

Space, for one. Maximizing vertical area is key to efficiently utilizing cupboard space. See how my containers stack high and fill the space between the shelves? This is most easily achieve with uniform container sizes. Think of how difficult it would be to stack backing soda, baking powder, salt, etc. otherwise. 

Aesthetics, for another. Although my containers aren't nearly as pretty as Emerson's jars, I still open my cupboard to a nice and neat appearance. Everything is labeled so I can find things easily. I admired the OXO pop top containers for their square shape and easy open lids (plastic so they won't break as easily in my butter fingers), but at an average of $15 per container it would be a huge investment. I opted instead to buy this Rubbermaid set, 25 containers for $19! Plus, I can find individual containers almost anywhere to add to my set if needed. Much more cost-effective.

A tight seal ensures fresh ingredients. Some store packages simply don't seal well. (By the way, for easy measuring, I simply use the edge of the lid to level off the spoon. My mom takes this a step further and keeps a measuring spoon in the container with her most-frequently-used items.)

Some people decant for environmental reasons, although so far this doesn't fly with me. I still by the same packages of food and empty them into my own containers, tossing the store packaging. I have noticed the grocery store I usually shop at has a nice bulk food section, however. I can bring home many of these items in a simple plastic bag, or better yet, bring my own containers to the store to fill. 

A disadvantage to consider—I still have to keep the larger original containers for some of these things in another place (oils, flour, and sugar for instance). For the most success, choose a container that fits the size of the package you usually buy. Try to empty your containers completely before refilling to ensure your ingredients are as fresh as possible. Wash your containers occasionally before refilling—and dry them completely!

I still have pantry items, such as rice, pasta, and cereal to consider buying containers for. So I'm curious. How do you feel about decanting? Have you tried it, and is it worth it? 

sewing project

I have two large and lovely rolls of fabric at home, just begging for me to get my sewing machine out and dust it off. Both are Robert Allen prints that I scored at 50% off, but their coordination is an accident and I wasn't intending to use them together. Any guesses what I'm making?

Mother's Day

I spent the day working outside yesterday, so just now getting around to downloading my photos from the weekend. I hope you all had a happy Mother's Day weekend! Mine was rich with blessings.

On Friday, I got to join all the moms from Kindergarten through 2nd grade for a "Muffins for Moms" celebration. Sarah, dressed as a little Shirley Temple, performed Good Ship Lollipop with her class and I must say she was the most darling. :) I just love our small school and it brings back so many memories . . .

Saturday morning we headed out early to join Tom's family at a horse show, and the girls got an opportunity to get a little experience in the show arena. This isn't really my thing, but the smiles on the girls faces make it all worth while. Sarah was led in a Lead Line class by her cousin Tristin.

Abby hasn't been on a horse for months but did awesome in her Walk class with not so much as a warm up. 

On Sunday we enjoyed the Mother's Day brunch at the beautiful Gallatin Gateway Inn. It was a treat.

Me and my beautiful girls—I am the luckiest Mom!

This is Tom's sister and her gorgeous family. Tom's Dad is known for being thoughtful and bought us lilies to wear. 

My nephew is never serious for the camera—I have a million pictures like this of him, some at this very hotel! These kids were so grown up and well behaved. It is rather nice when your kids get to the age where they can tend to themselves at a buffet. Know what I'm sayin', moms?

Eva still needs help with her plate, of course, but Tom took over that chore so I could relax and enjoy my meal. Eva kept herself busy by loading every single finger with yogurt, then licking it off.

Abby loves to borrow my camera, and I think she does a great job. It means I actually end up on the other side of the lens once in awhile.

My dapper nephews—not having any boys of my own I really enjoy spending time with these sweet guys.

Thanks to my sweetie for a great weekend. It was perfect! Well, there is one thing that would have topped it off—spending time with my own mother. But unfortunately I can't be two places at once, and I'm glad I get to see my Mom almost every day. Love you, Mom!

Back at home I get to spend lots of time with my own kiddos and enjoy mornings hanging out with Eva instead of trotting off to work. I do consider myself very blessed having had worked full time while the other two were little.

Eva plays me a tune on the ukelele. . . and then carries it off to her next gig.

Much to be thankful for. Happy Mother's Day to you all!

Feng Shui Friday—What it takes to be an organized person

I knew once we started demolition for our kitchen remodel that staying organized would go out the window right along with the old carpet, and I said then that I would be discontuing my Feng Shui Friday for ahwile.

Well, a number of you have commented about following along with my Feng Shui series, and now that spring cleaning season is here, I'm happy to say that I am feeling motivated to pick it back up as well!

So to kick off a new season of organization and Feng Shui projects, I thought I would share a few of my thoughts on the matter.

via design sponge 

I often hear things like "You are so organized! I wish I had that gene!" This should be considered a compliment, I suppose, but it bothers me somewhat—and here's why. Organization doesn't come naturally or happen automatically. An organized person WORKS at being that way. 

I am by no means organized in every aspect of my life. Some areas I'm failing in right now include filing and paperwork (you don't even want to know), my garage, and my bathroom drawer to name a few. Don't get me wrong—I definitely aspire to get those areas under control and you'd better believe they are on my to do list. But it means I have lots of work to do.

So, how do you become an "organized person", since you aren't born that way? 

1. It takes motivation. You have to want to be that way. I want to be organized for two reasons—for form and for function. I love how an organized space looks, and I love how an organized space fuctions. Clutter grates on my nerves and makes everyday tasks take extra time. I do my best to pass this motivation on to my family and get them involved. Hopefully the tendancy to be organized will rub off on my kids. My husband is already a lost cause—ha.

2. It takes practice and experience. Most people don't automatically know how to get and stay organized. You have to learn strategies and techniques. For example: You've heard the adage "A place for everything and everything in its place". Everything must be given a home or it will float around as clutter. You have probably heard of employing a one in/one out strategy where you must get rid of something old as you add something new (to your closet, for example). Grouping like items together. Placing items at point of use. The importance of labeling. Maximizing space/height of shelves. These are all strategies that can be learned and improved with practice. We form good habits over time. I have picked these things up over time and I'm still working on the habit part. I've subscribed to Real Simple magazine since their very first issue. My eyes were opened! I read organizing blogs and have even taken an online class. I pin organization ideas on Pinterest, a few of which I've included in this post. I'm crazy like that. At my previous job I took a year-long intensive course on having lean processes and maximum efficiency, a big component of which was having an organized space. My point is, I wasn't born this way. I've developed this tendancy.

via the style files

3. It takes time. It has been almost 2 years since we moved to the farm and I am still figuring out the best place to put things. Getting organized definitely doesn't happen overnight. The thing is, staying organized takes time too. Many systems must be maintained on a regular schedule. We have to constantly take the time to purge what we don't need. It is good to employ systems that manage themselves as much as possible (automatic bill paying, for instance).

via apartment therapy

4. It takes discipline. I think all of us fall into the trap of thinking we need more than we do. It takes constant discipline to purge and to follow the systems we set up.

Martha Stewart Living

5. It takes space to be, and to stay organized. This means we need to either create more space or have less stuff. Simple as that. We need to be able to see everything. It is the stuff in the back recesses of our closets and cupboards that cause the most trouble. 

So lest you think it is hopeless because you weren't born with that "organization gene", I'm here to say no more excuses! Let's get organized together this summer! I'll share my projects if you'll share yours.  (Sorry to be so bossy. I get it from my 9-year-old.)

spring yard work

While indoor house projects have stalled, the outside to-do list is growing and demanding attention. I really enjoy working in the yard, and it is always a welcome change after a winter spent indoors. I don't know yet if we are going to tackle any of our BIG project plans this summer (rebuilding the deck, making a patio and pergola, landscaping the side/back yards, building grow boxes, etc.), but at least for now I can chip away at the things I can manage alone. I've been trying to document a few of the things I've worked on with my phone camera.

For starters, I am doing a lot more planting. My aunt Joann has a beuatiful rock garden and gererously offered to give me some starts. 

Then, when I was walking up on the hill behind our house and enjoying the spectacular views I noticed some little bitty ground cover flowers between the tracks in the road.

I figured if they could survive in the wild they stood a good chance of surviving in my yard, so I dug up a few to transplant (the little white blossoms in the left photo—not the yellow.) 

All the above along with a few store-bought varieties have been planted now along our rock staircase. It will take several years for it all to fill in, of course. Gardening is definitely an exercise in patience. (Abby is doing a cartwheel onto the top slab, in case you are wondering. 

To the left of the staircase, the neighboring planters received a layer of mulch. The tulips I planted are doing nicely, but a couple of perinnials didn't make it through the winter and need to be replaced. And I ended up buying WAY to much mulch, so now I am adding some new projects to my list to use it all up.

Still on my to-do list:

Mowing (A lot of our yard projects are geared towards making the mowing job easier. We have a large riding mower, and I'm trying to eliminate any tight spaces.)

Watering (We had an irrigation system in Utah, so this routine is taking some adjustment!)

Dig several new beds, edge, lay weed fabric, and mulch. I have a few places that are growing more weeds than grass, and a few others that the mower can't reach.

Dig out the grass around the bush and tree in the back yard and mulch them so I can mow around them more easily.

Plant more plants in the planters—probably some annuals.

Fill pots with annuals and tomatoes (yum!)  I've purchased a few that I'm still having to bring inside at night.

Dig up some wild yucca plants to transplant throughout our gravel areas.

Weeding and more weeding!

From there, we'll see. Summers are busy around here!

basement playroom

Hello there! I'm back on this beautiful Monday to share another basement project. There may be a million things I could add to the kids playroom under the stairs before I call it finished. It will probably change as fast as the kids grow and their interests evolve. The latest addition was a fun and inexpensive improvement.

I used to store the kids' dress-ups in an expandable bucket of sorts. The trouble was, when they wanted to wear something, they dumped the entire bucket out to find what they were looking for. 

We have quite a lot of dress-ups because Sarah especially was into dressing up for a long time. I've saved most of their Halloween costumes and dance outfits for dress-ups also. Now the older two have mostly outgrown it, but Eva is just getting started. 

I found some cute velvet child-size hangers on sale for cheap recently, so I snatched up a bunch and bought a tension rod to hang in this shallow space under the stairs. It looks so much more organized, and it is much easier for the girls to find what they are looking for. Best of all, it is removable/movable.

 

Eva adores her playroom (another tight space and difficult room to take pictures of)!

That means my old strategy of storing Legos up here to keep them out of her reach is no longer effective. Oh well! :)

basement bathroom

Continuing in sharing some of basement progress and rooms we are checking off as finally finished...

Next up is our basement bathroom.

Lest you forget how far we've come:

The pictures really don't do it justice. But don't you especially love the mirror that is hanging way to the right of the sink? And the laminate counter that just wraps itself right up the wall?

I've shown you various iterations of this bathroom as we've chipped away at the details—most recently the cupboards and the artwork. The last thing to be finished was the tile backsplash. We finally wrapped that job up when we were installing the kitchen tile and already had all the supplies out. We were finally able to hang the mirrors also, since they are mounted right above the tile. It's a miracle we didn't end up with broken mirrors while having them propped on the counter for a year!

The backsplash mimics the trim in the shower. I have had these baskets for quite awhile, but I found these cute chalkboard signs to mark them as "clean" or "dirty".

The yellow/green accents were kind of an accident, and not a color I would have been inclined to pick for this room, but I think I like it! (By the way, this room is was really difficult to photograph with no natural light or wide angle lens. I should have spent more time correcting the white balance. I did the best I could, but the photos have a distinct warm cast.)

I've mentioned them before, but these funny little vases are from CB2. I just love them, but we did have a casualty a short while ago. I was just happy they were still available so I could replace him (this time with a more secure nail). 

The old shower had a cracked plastic tile surround, brick barriers, and rough concrete floor. The new shower with it's marble bench and dual heads is by far the nicest in the house, so we all use it more than our own upstairs. One more thing we'd like to add to this room eventually—a Euro frameless glass shower door. Right now we have an extra long clear curtain liner (on the inside so it can slip out of sight when not in use). It works smashingly until we are willing to fork out the $700-900 it will cost to put in a glass door (choke). Maybe never?

basement guest room

We've been chipping away at a few projects in the basement, and I am finally getting to the point where I can call some rooms "finished". I thought I would show you some of our progress this week.

One room that received some attention was our guest room:

Remember the before?

Ha. :) I know some would say the before had more retro character, but the after makes for a very comfortable guest room. This room was all about using what he had so the design is a bit more traditional than the rest of the house, but I like how it came together.

We had closet doors sitting in this room for a long time waiting to be painted, so while we were painting the kitchen we finished them off and finally got them installed. Then I sold a big armoire that was taking up space in the corner, and replaced it with a chair that would be much more useful for our guests. (This chair used to have a home in our kitchen/dining area, but our new layout doesn't allow for a large chair like that.)

I hung a few photos on the wall—a watercolor I painted quite a few years ago and a collage of old family photos. I'd love to add more photos to this collage over time with some small vintage frames, so I plan to watch garage sales and Goodwill for unique ones.

The rest of the room was mostly old Master Bedroom furniture—all of it purchased at different times over the past decade or more. So as I said, very pieced together! I'm not into overdoing things, so hopefully this room is just the right amount of complete without feeling sparse. Does it make you want to come visit?

photo book annual

My photo book arrived, and I'm thrilled with it!

 

It has been a goal of mine for a LONG time to do photo book annuals for our family photos, but it seemed like it always fell to the back burner. So to finally get one finished and printed feels SO GOOD. I'm freshly motivated to start on 2012, and also to work backwards until I have one for every year that we've been married. (Back to 1997!) When I get back to about 2004 I was shooting film, so my photos will need to all be scanned. I also didn't take as many photos back then, and I don't remember as many details to write about, so I may combine multiple years in one book.

I ordered my book from Shutterfly, and it was about $68 (including shipping) which I think is a screaming deal when you think about how much it used to cost to buy film and develop a year's worth of photos. Or how much it would cost in supplies (or time) to scrapbook. I had a 50% off promotion code, and an additional $10 off code that kept the cost down significantly. 

My book is 12 x 12 (ideal for fitting lots of pictures on a page) and 72 pages long. I used a lot of the photos and text from my blog rather than starting from scratch, which helped a ton with the time factor.

Here are a few of the layouts:

I set up a limited number of grids and font styles to follow and kept the design pretty simple from there. I intend to keep this same design theme going through all the books I do, so I wanted it to be pretty clean and classic.

Shutterfly has some really nice templates to follow, but I wanted complete design flexibility so I built mine in InDesign and uploaded full pages as JPEGs. The production isn't absolutely perfect—the spine text doesn't align perfectly for example, and I've found a couple of small design errors already, but I know from my years of catalog publishing that they are never perfect. 

Overall it turned out awesome and my family is already having a ball reliving our last year. I can't wait to start the next one—wish me luck!

Friday randomness

I've been neglecting this here blog because I've had kids, a house, company, etc. that have needed me more. Therefore, I'm stuck doing random update posts to catch you up. So here goes... here are the happenings since we last talked:

1. Today is a very wet day.

The rain is delaying the already long seeding process so today the guys are in the shop working on a spray truck that broke down earlier this week. Most of the farmers in the area were done with their spring seeding in a snap because they mostly just do wheat. Not us. So far we have planted peas, mustard (new for us this year), canola, and barley. We will finish up with spring wheat when we can get back in the field. Nevertheless, we will take the rain when we can get it! And when it dries up, oh boy does that lawn of mine need mowed.

2. Things break on the farm. All the time. The afore-mentioned spray truck, for one. My mom's lawn mower broke down so they have ours at their house. And then ours broke down. Lawn mowing is not as high a priority as field spraying, so I will be getting my push mower out. Also this week our cistern emptied and we ran out of water. Too many farmers are spraying and using a ton of water right now, and our cistern is the last on the line to be filled. Small inconvenience. When things break, usually it is faster and cheaper to fix them ourselves, but Tom (and I) aren't nearly as mechanically inclined as my dad. I'm not whining here, just pointing out how different it is from living in the city. There are so many moving peices and parts and no shop right down the road to take them too. Broken equipment can definitely add stress to an already busy time.

3. House projects. Now we get to add the outdoor projects to the already long indoor list. I am really trying to find the joy in the process and not get overwhelmed by how much there is to do.

I'm starting to see the rewards of the planting I did last fall. I was worried that I got things started too late, but it seems like most of it is springing up. In the planter I have tulips and daffodils beginning to bloom and 2 out of 3 rose bushes showing some life. I have been weeding and plan to spread some mulch. Now if I can just keep the dog from digging and trampling, I'll be good. (See the big hole in the lower bed? Grrr.) Next to it the rock garden/staircase needs some new plants before the weeds completely take over. 

Some of you have asked about the front door. You may remember we ordered one and then rejected what they delivered because they got the order wrong. Well, we regrouped and decided to order just the door without the sidelights—then we will replace the glass in the current window frames. This option was actually much cheaper too. But now the new door sits in our garage and will wait for the guys to have time to install it, along with several windows. The lock set we purchased fits the new door as planned, and once the door is painted it should look fabulous!

4. I adore spring. The warm days, and even the rainy days. The girls are loving it too, and yesterday they romped in the puddles when the sun came out after a storm. And I finally remembered to get my camera out.

5. Speaking of spring, it is the season of cleaning, isn't it? I cleaned my house from floor to ceiling for company last weekend. Big news, I know. But sometimes it just feels good to get it all done at once and feel caught up for a change! That feeling lasts for about 2 seconds.

Case in point: I scrubbed the ranch limo, inside and out.

And I had to "take a picture to make it last longer" since a half hour later I had to drive right back down the dusty gravel roads to pick up the girls from the bus. 

Another job like that is mopping my kitchen floors. It looks great for 10 minutes until someone walks through the door. I already kicked the dog out and might have to kick the kids out too. Kidding, of course. Sort of. But I am thinking I should implement a no-shoes policy. I mopped my floor twice within two hours yesterday. Can anyone relate? Of course you can. We Moms all know that controlling the chaos is a never-ending job and its why being a SAHM is much more work than I ever expected. 

6. My photo book came in the mail today! It turned out great and I will show you Monday after I can get a post together

7. I had a birthday last week. These days they come and go without a lot of fanfare but this year Mom made me a cake. I love cake.

This one was Pink Lemonade (from the cover of the May BHG issue) and it was delish. In the background is the print for a skirt she sewed for me also. I'm so spoiled!

I have had a favorite coffee mug (coffee tastes better in the right mug!) since I graduated from college. It was an MSU pottery mug and a graduation gift from the potters themselves. Well, a couple of weeks ago I was setting it out of Eva's reach and it fell over onto our new tile floor and broke. (Frowny face.) Little did I know, my sweet husband called that very day to custom order a replacement for my birthday and I am now the proud owner of a new beautiful MSU mug. 

Mountain Arts Pottery here.

8. A few other random acquisitions:

I bought these print blocks in the letters of each of our names at a tiny local flea market. 

I bought this cheery pot from Ross Dress for Less of all places. I've had a couple of plants that were left here after my Grandpa's funeral, and I thought I'd better finally get them potted for them to have any real chance at survival. 

The cheery succulents came from a recent home show, and this sweet bowl needed a purpose so they found their match in my kitchen. The soap dispenser is one of several things I've been shopping for to outfit our new kitchen. 

9. And one last thing...

Shirley Temple paid us a visit this week. She was here for a Good Ship Lollipop performance for a Senior Citizen's lunch at school. Parents weren't invited. Pshaw.

Monday randomness

1. This weekend I installed all the hardware on our cabinets. It is such an improvement since these drawers were rather hard to open without it. I chose the Metrik handles from Ikea. When it turned out we were unable to go to Utah over Easter weekend, I opted to order them online. Checked another item off the list!

2. My new floors show everything. I guess the even color and fairly smooth finish is less forgiving than tile I've had in the past. It's okay—mopping isn't my least favorite job (cleaning bathrooms gets that award)—but I'm not willing to do it every day.  Right now, it really needs mopped daily, and this member of our family is the main culprit:

 

Immediately after I mop, a new blanket of fur is covering the floor, and it is causing me to pull my own hair out. So some changes are going to be made. Poor Mia. Mom is mean but this spoiling must stop. I am DONE having an indoor dog.

3. I've been battling a nasty cold for a week. The bright side is while laying low I've had an opportunity to spend some time on the computer and work on a photo book. For a long time I have wanted to do family "annuals" to get some of our family photos printed, but it always fell to the bottom of the to-do list. Earlier this year I finally set up a template and have been chipping away at my 2011 photos. I'm pushing to get it finished and ordered this week! I'll be sure to share it with you.

4. Our laundry room is put back together and functioning again . . . as a laundry room (not a kitchen). My utility sink was hooked back up this weekend. I have a laundry list (ha ha) of things to do in that room before it is really finished, though.

• Scrape the popcorn ceiling (or cover it with beadboard?). The celing in this room is painted so scraping will be more difficult. 
• Patch walls and ceiling and paint.
• The countertop was retrofitted from our old kitchen, and it needs a few end pieces touched up. We also need to install a backsplash- either more laminate or perhaps tile...?
• Paint cabinets and install new hardware.
• Add some open shelves to store laundry baskets (under the upper cabinet on the left in the top photo).
• Paint exterior door and install trim.
• New light fixture, or maybe DIY one using this frame.

I'll keep you posted as this project rolls along, but it will probably be awhile since finishing up the kitchen is much higher on the priority list. Ugly as it is at the moment, it is still great to have a large, functioning laundry room.

5. I wasn't sure what to do with the closet doors in the hallway. Since replacing them wasn't really in the budget or a priority, the old ones went back up. I decided they looked best as-is rather than painted, but I did switch out the hardware:

The funny thing is, the old handles still left their mark:

Apparently the doors have faded over time. I've decided not to lose any sleep over it. I did run a bit of stain right over top of the existing finish, and it helped to minimize the imperfections and scratches somewhat. The new handles are a bit small for the doors, but they fit the holes from the old handles. For now we have bigger problems to worry about. But what is your opinion? Are they an eyesore? Should we replace them down the road with something? Like what?

Easter weekend

I'm a little behind on this, but I thought I would kick off this weekend by sharing last weekend's Easter photos. After a gray winter it is so refreshing to see spring colors and green grass. A little Photoshop saturation boost doesn't hurt either. :)

Every year as sort of an Easter tradition I try to get the girls a new spring outfit. This year my mom made it easy for me and sewed these adorable skirts with fabric she acquired in Hawaii. My mom is a seamstress extraordinaire. I know this because she used to sew all my fancy childhood dresses.

We shared an egg hunt with my dear cousin Barb and her boys and everyone soaked up the beautiful spring weather. 

Today, just a few days later, it is cold and wet but we are loving the sight of a good spring soaker. Tom said, "It's great, but it's making those weeds I haven't sprayed yet grow faster". Yes, that means it is making the crops grow also. The bulbs in my flower garden are growing, the grass is greener, the weeds are taking over, and the gophers are out.

Abby and her buddy Jace are doing their part to control the gopher population. I'm pretty sure they would need to make this quota daily to make a dent.

kitchen backsplash and hood

One kitchen detail I have yet to show you is the last project we finished before seeding began—tiling the backsplash.

After much debate, we ended up with inexpensive white subway tiles from Home Depot. We didn't debate the style—I knew I wanted subway tile—but we debated the color. My cabinets are called "Divinity" and our trim color is called "Powdered Snow", neither of which are bright white. They aren't cream either. Somewhere in between I'd say. I looked at a number of different options, and ultimately decided the white of these tiles was suitable, and they were certainly the best price at just over $1/sf.

(I just realized neither photo I've included shows the white cabinets, so I'll have to post more for you later. The tiles are a bit whiter than the cabinets, but it isn't extreme and it all blends pretty well.)

I went for white grout, although I have definitely noted (and liked) the trend of going with gray or darker grout. I just wanted a cleaner and more timeless look and wanted the tile to be the backdrop, not the star of the show.

We ran out of wall adhesive before we were able to finish the section above the window on the far wall (above). We will go back and finish that when Tom has some availability, and then I will caulk all of the seams. 

The new hood is great too—I can finally cook without setting off the fire alarms (a regular occurrence before)! But by far my favorite part is the stove backsplash. We opted not to buy the expensive backsplash that matched the Kitchenaid cooktop. Instead we found a less expensive magnetic backsplash on sale from Pottery Barn. It came with some cute magnetic clips that provide the perfect spot to clip a recipe. Pottery Barn also had this stainless shelf with hooks. Not only did we save money, I LOVE the result. I wasn't sure about the hooks at first (they are removable) but now it is my favorite part. My measuring cups and spoons are perfect here and within such easy reach. I bought a second identical set to hang on the other side. The shelf also provides a perfect ledge for my oils and salt & pepper shakers. I am on a mission to keep my counters as clear as possible and this helps a ton.

To the right of the hood you can see two rows of holes in the tile. These are for the hidden supports that will hold two open shelves. We purchased some 1-inch thick 7-inch wide oak boards that we need to glue together and drill for the supports. My dad will tackle that project when seeding is finished and then I can stain and finish them. It will be SO handy to have our everyday dishes there, right across from the dishwasher.

Much to do, but it is finished enough to be enjoyed, and enjoying it we are!

dining room hutch—before and after

Remember this?

I'm referring to our dining room hutch. People seemed to either love it or hate it. It does have some midcentury clean lines and it stores a TON. My great grandfather had made it as a wedding gift for my grandparents, so it had sentimental value also. But it wasn't perfect. The doors are a bit crooked and the finish was worn. The finish was very orange. The wood is inexpensive plywood. 

Here it is before we moved in:

Just adding my own furniture and decor already made it look WAY more modern. But when we finished the kitchen remodel, it didn't seem fit to go back in the dining room without some TLC. So I set to work.

Now it looks like this:

Can you see the difference? I know it isn't a major change. I wanted to improve it while still keeping its character.

First I stripped, sanded, and refinished it. I took a lot of elbow grease because this thing is HUGE. 8 feet long, to be exact!

I first tried a medium walnut stain—I didn't want it to be too dark—but didn't notice any difference. Then I tried dark walnut, and still I didn't see a significant change. This type of wood didn't seem to want to soak up the stain very well. Finally, I tried to apply an ebony stain over the dark walnut, and the grain really picked up the darker color. I liked the look of the enhanced grain and thought it was worth the double application.

I also replaced the hardware. The old wood handles were glued on and left a mark even after sanding and refinishing, so I chose a handle that would cover this up.

The upper cabinet got the same treatment. Next, I repainted the inside of the shelves white to match my trim color, and then painted the backs of the shelves with black chalkboard paint to make my white dishes stand out.

I have one more thing I want to do. I would like to remove the kick base on the lower cabinet and add legs to make it look more like a piece of furniture and less like a cabinet. Because the cabinet is so large and heavy, my dad wants to custom build metal feet that would be stronger than traditional legs. I'll keep you posted on that, but since it might be awhile, I couldn't wait to show you how it turned out!

spring on the farm

A lot of random thoughts to share with you today. I've been rather inconsistent with my posts lately and I'm starting to feel like have lots to catch up on, so random is what you get. 

So we are approaching Easter weekend around here. Actually, we are approaching it everywhere—ha. But here in our small school we don't get a spring break, just 3 days off for Easter to make it a 5 day weekend. We finish earlier than the bigger schools at the end of the year then, but for now we just get this one short break. I was really hoping to make a trip to Utah this weekend. It's been a year since we visited. I have a VERY LONG shopping list, not to mention all the friends we'd love to catch up with. 

Mother nature had other ideas. When spring comes, so does the farm work. It doesn't wait on petty vacations. The seeder is parked out front ready to go and we are out spraying the eager weeds. Once we get rolling, we have at least 2 solid weeks of very long days to finish the seeding. So for now, IKEA can wait.

We are using this contraption to clean lentils and peas for planting:

Last Sunday we had a sneak preview of Easter dinner—I had an old ham in the freezer and some new ovens to try out. The leftover ham bone was the perfect base for pea soup, so while we were out cleaning peas for planting, we were inside cooking last year's bounty for dinner. Farm to table at its best.

I should have trekked out to the shop for some freshly cleaned peas. I had to pick some straw out of mine since they were collected straight in off the field. (Extra fiber, right?) Aside from that, a quick rinse was all that was needed to ready these for cooking into a yummy pea soup.

The girls want to be outside all. the. time. I caught this picture of them on one of our first warm days:

Their cowgirl boots and ball caps made me smile. That's how they roll. Now Sarah is already sporting her flip flops and tank tops. It will be quite a shocker when it snows this week. The snow likely won't stick around for long, however. Spring is in the air. Bring on the moisture! And if it snows, maybe I'll have a little luck getting some help with a few more indoor projects, hey?

Our swing set is being put to good use. Best investment!

The big girls aren't the only ones enjoying the great outdoors. Whenever the door opens, Eva makes a run for it. "'side?" she says. She doesn't want to stay in the yard, either. She just wants to take off down the road and never stop. Reigning her in is going to be a challenge and we are just praying she doesn't learn how to open the door any time soon.

A few other Eva-isms: (See, I told you this would be random.) She is talking a blue streak. One of my favorites is when she says what she wants—for example "juice"—and you repeat it back to her to make sure you understand, "Juice?". She says "ohay" (okay) to confirm. Like its your idea and she is just agreeing to it. So cute.

At night when it is story time, she has to have her own book (always an Archie comic) and reads aloud along side us. She is getting quite vocal when she isn't understood, or when she doesn't get what she wants. Typical almost-2 behavior. Love her.

We are done with the skiing season. Sarah got a slow start this year, despite having a lesson and lots of encouragement from Dad. Finally I had an opportunity a few weeks ago to join them on the slopes, and with a lot of patience was able to get Sarah started, one inch at a time. With every inch came an ounce of confidence, and now she is beating us down the slopes. The photo above was taken on the little bunny slope conveyer lift, but I promise she has graduated to much bigger adventures.

So that is what is going on at the farm—outside. Do you like hearing about the farm work? Would you like to hear more? Inside, projects have stalled indefinitely. Though I'm not completely out of things to catch up on and share with you. More to come!

My poem that won both county and state in a writing contest

by Abby.

My poem won 1st in county and state in a writing contest held by the women's club.

It is now going to nationals!!!I am super excited!

The poem is called " Oh Old scarecrow" and I am very proud of it.

So here it is!

Oh Old Scarecrow

Oh old scarecrow

Hanging in the alfalfa field

Pesky mice

Irritating gnats

Annoying flies

Squawking crows

How do you do it?

Smile on your face

Arms pushing against the wind

Scaring fluttering moths away.

That must really make your day!

Yep! That's my poem.

Hoped you liked it!!!

Sarah's Chandelier

I've been shopping on Craig's List again. It's a bad habit of mine.

Actually, I take that back. When I look around my house at all the things I have thrifted, I am quite pleased with them all. So let's just call it a habit. Nothing bad about it. In fact, just recently I have sold our old kitchen cabinets, an armoire in our guest room to make way for a chair, and our old stove and microwave. We are delivering the latter to town tomorrow and I am hoping to bring home a $20 set of bookcases for our storage room (from another seller). Win win!

Although Sarah's room hasn't been on our target list of projects yet, I have had in mind to buy her a chandelier. She is my princess, after all. Through all the light shopping I've done for the kitchen I have kept my eye out for a good deal. This listing recently popped up on Craig's List:

Genuine Crystal 8-Arm Chandelier, $250

I took note but moved on. It was more than I wanted to spend and a bit traditional.

And then, a week later:

Genuine Crystal 8-Arm Chandelier, Price Reduced! $100

This time I bit. I pulled out the measuring tape to make sure it wouldn't clock us in the head when we walked through her room, then offered $75. It was ours!

I was a little unsure at first. It was covered with that dusty/greasy grime that all things accumulate when they are over 50 years old. I laid it out on the kitchen table and spent several hours cleaning the entire chandelier and every individual crystal.

It sparkled! It was worth the effort.

And after putting it up in Sarah's room I was even more sure of the purchase.

Fit for a princess.

As with any thrift purchase, it is fun to try to find out if you scored a good deal or not. The chandelier bore the mark of Palme&Walter KG, which we identified as a German chandelier maker. However, the only lead we could find on its value was a listing on eBay for another Palme&Walter chandelier (which looked very much like ours) that had rare Strass crystals on it. Apparently those crystals had signatures in them which could be seen with a magnifying glass. This chandelier sold for $6,000. Ahem. Needless to say I got out a magnifying glass. But I couldn't find any such signature. And the likelihood of a chandelier of that value ending up in an unknowing Great Falls citizen's home? Yeah, right.

In any case, although it would be nice to have a better idea what the value of this fixture is, I'm confident either way we scored a good deal. And Sarah is ecstatic.