need a bag?

I have been very wordless lately, and I have a million excuses for it: We were out of town for the weekend, I've been sick, I've been busy, the kids are bored out of their minds and are acting up, I've been reading good books, but mostly there are two reasons for my absence. One I'll show you in a minute. But the other is going to make you guys realize how big of a wimp I really am, however, if you get canker sores you might be sympathetic. Since last Thursday my mouth has been taken over by canker sores--this weekend I had FOUR in my mouth at one time. The first three weren't any worse than normal, but the last one, the one that is still causing me so much pain today, is the mother of all canker sores. I am not even exaggerating when I tell you it's half an inch long! Not only does it have the usual stinging, but it's made my gums sore, and if you even touch my face (which my kids do 100 times a day) I have to choke back tears, that's how bad it is. I think it's finally on the mend, but when I'm in pain my creativity is really zapped. Alright, enough complaining.

Want to hear about my recent project that's taken up my time? For Christmas I decided to make some bags for my kids to take to church to replace my ugly diaper bag. A friend in the ward had one of those bags that's got the crayon pockets in the front, and I wanted to make those. So I looked at hers, decided how big I wanted it, and went home and started experimenting. 12 bags later I've finally got it down--and I'm not even tired of making them! I think they are fun to make, so I keep making them, and now hope to sell them. My kids love theirs because they can pack their own bag and carry it to church, and I love them because they each have their own set of crayons, coloring books, toys and snacks. I think they would also be great for traveling because you could put all of their activities into one bag. I plan to set up an etsy shop when I have a minute, and then I'll link it here, but if you know anyone interested in one have them email me: lisamary24{at}hotmail{dot}com and put "crayon tote" in the subject in case it goes to my junk mail.

Here are the details: They are about 12" by 13". Holds 24 crayons and has a pocket inside. The lining is the same fabric as the crayon pockets. The bag is lined with fusible fleece to make it stronger. $17, which includes 24 brand new CRAYOLA crayons.

I have five bags right now, and more on the way:

I have two of this floral

Alright, my sales pitch is over. I've been meaning to give you an update on Tyler's switch to the big boy bed. I have no idea how I've gotten so lucky, but his transition has been perfectly fine! He still takes his naps, and goes down just as easily as before. He even seems to sleep better at night, though he and Alexis do talk for awhile first and sometimes wake each other up in the morning, but not any earlier than normal. It's been a dream, and they even have started sleeping through noise the other makes during the night. I really must be in for it when it comes time to potty training because this was almost too easy.

Now the sun is shining, which must mean it's going to be a good day! Have you guys noticed that it's almost February and I have hardly complained about the weather??? I must really be growing up.

Wordless Wednesday

Wordless Wednesday--The "They don't ALWAYS get along" edition

on the ice

I'm sorry, I have not been in the blogging mentality lately, but I'll try and pull it together. I've had a project lately that's taken over my thoughts and my time, and I will unveil it soon. I like how I just said "unveil", as if it's going to be all exciting. It probably won't be to the majority of you, but I'm excited about it. In addition to that, I've gotten sucked into the black hole that is called "The Bachelor". Jeremy warned me not to, but I went and did it. Ever seen it?? The whole situation is SOOOO unnatural that you can't help but watch it, even though you cringe through the whole thing.

Anyway.

Hi!

This weekend we took Alexis ice skating. She had been begging to go for awhile, and she really wanted her grandpa to take her because she's heard stories of how great of an ice skater he is. Fortunately she allowed Jeremy and I to tag along, so we left Tyler with grandma and headed out. One thing I learned: do not do anything family oriented in Provo on a Saturday afternoon--you are just asking for trouble. OH MY GOSH the children! I could not believe how many kids were there, and if it weren't for Alexis I would have left.

I expected Alexis to like ice skating more than she did, especially considering how much she talked about it. She tried it for a little while, but didn't seem to have a ton of fun. I think she was nervous about falling, and it is weird to first experience being that unsteady on your feet. Also, her little legs probably got tired. While there she said she didn't like it, but as soon as we were out the door she talked about how fun it was...but she doesn't want to go back until she's bigger.


Here's the thing: that sounds just like me, which is a bad thing. I am such a stress case when it comes to most things physical because I'm afraid of getting hurt or looking stupid. I HATE that about myself, yet I haven't changed, I've only gotten worse. Anytime I participate in any sort of sport I think about all the things that could go wrong and I never enjoy it. And as a result I never push myself to get to the point where I'm good enough at something that it becomes REALLY fun.

So how do I help Alexis not become like me? I try to not let her see that side of me, but I'm sure she's noticed it. How do I push her to do things without traumatizing her? Seriously, this parenting business is tricky--like walking a high wire (which would totally terrify me by the way, because of the heights).


I have to remember, she is only 4, which isn't really old enough to find patterns and say "this is the way she is". So here's to hoping she does not turn out like me! Also, not liking ice skating is not such a bad thing, because if she took it up I'd have to sit by an ice rink, like ALL the time to watch her. I can think of other places I'd rather be watching her from, like poolside, or at the beach, for example.

3 tell tale signs that your son's only sibling is an older sister

1. He likes to dress up. Leotards, tutus, swimsuits, high heels, etc.

2. He can correctly name the majority of the Disney princesses.

3. He comes to you with his favorite blanket wadded up and held so gingerly in his arms, and says sweetly, "mom, this is my mermaid baby".

Tyler took this picture. Love his chunky legs and the little freckle on his toe.

********
On an unrelated note, here's a video. Actually, at the end it becomes related. Anyway, Alexis attends story time at the local library once a week and the lady who does it is really awesome. The past few weeks she's given out short poems for the kids to memorize, and if they come back the next week and tell it to her she gives them a piece of candy. Last weeks poem was about a giraffe and Alexis had no trouble memorizing it. I thought you'd enjoy seeing her say it. She was not in the best mood when I made her do it, which explains the sadness in her eyes. But cute nonetheless.

Wordless Wednesday

changing and organizing

On Thursday night Jeremy informed me that the solution to all my problems (and the start of a whole slew of new ones) was to move Tyler into Alexis' room, and therefore put him in a big kid bed. A wave of insanity overcame me and I readily agreed to the plan. I let Tyler pick out some sheets (that of course have basketballs, soccer balls, baseballs, and footballs on them) and he was so excited he couldn't even nap (in his crib) on Friday. All day I prepared him for the change by reciting the rules over and over:
1. No talking
2. No playing
3. No getting out of bed

So when bedtime came he had those rules down. After putting them both in their beds, turning off the light and leaving the room, we could hear them reciting the rules to each other for the next 20 minutes. "No talking, no getting out of bed, no playing, no talking, no playing, no getting out of bed, no talking, no talking, no talking". Clearly memorizing the rules and actually executing the rules are two very different things. But they only talked for a little while before they fell asleep, and it's been the same every night since then. However, Tyler didn't nap on Saturday, which drove me all kinds of crazy. And he didn't have a chance yesterday because of 1:00 church, so we'll see how today goes. So far he's still awake, just laying there. But the crib is still set up and I'm not afraid to use it, because naps are not falling by the wayside around here--Tyler's nap is how I get through the day.


So after the decision to move him into Alexis' room (which is very purple, by the way) was made, all the toys got moved to his old room, which also houses a full bookshelf and about a million of my books that had no space on the bookshelf. We decided to buy a new bookshelf and Jeremy found a monstrosity of a shelving unit on craigslist for a good price. We went and picked it up, but first we stopped by a coinstar machine because we had A LOT of coins to turn in. In fact, we started filling up these coin jars when we got married, which equals 6 1/2 years worth of coins. It could have been a lot more except that for most of our marriage we just used our debit cards. Want to know how many coins?

104 quarters
159 dimes
83 nickels
and
2458 pennies

Plus we found a twenty dollar bill hidden among the pennies, so our bookshelf was definitely free.

Other events of the weekend:
-Alexis used the word "absolutely" about 100 times, and it's absolutely better and cuter than hearing "no" all the time.
-I introduced the kids to the great taste of dry cake mix (dry, as in the powder stuff straight from the box before you mix it with anything)
-Jeremy went through the contents of my freezer (I warned him it was a bad idea) and read the expiration dates, and then was disgusted. I told him they are more like suggestions, but he presented strong evidence against that.
-Last night Jeremy and I went to bed at 9:45 like a bunch of old people, but it felt so good and was much needed!

Now my house is a mess (how come organizing things always makes more of a mess first??) but all I want to do is sew. Also, if you have any good stories to share about the transition from crib to bed, I'd love to hear them. All I've heard is that kids drop their naps shortly after the move, and I don't need to hear more of that. Alexis kept hers for awhile after we moved her (she was almost 3 when we did) but she's always been a better sleeper than Tyler. So I need some encouragement before I eat the rest of this apple cobbler. I am totally turning into an emotional eater.

aspiring to greatness

Lately Alexis has developed an Attitude. Notice the capitol A. She's been rude, grumpy and just downright mean. If you heard her you might be a bit confused and maybe think you've entered an all girls high school or something, that's how much attitude she's packing in that tiny little body. I've tried things to adjust it, but so far I don't seem to have even made a dent in the problem, so I finally concluded that I'm doing something wrong. Duh, right? I mean, kids don't just act like that for no reason. So while pondering on what I'm doing wrong, I've realized that lately I've only been a GOOD mom, which is not what I want to be. I want to be a GREAT mom (well really, a SUPERB mom but I think that takes a lot more practice). I used to be a GREAT mom, but I've gotten lazy lately. Sure, I feed my kids. I keep them clean. I play occasional games with them and read stories to them. I encourage them to play nicely together, and I take them to places they would enjoy. But really, anyone could do that. I haven't been going above and beyond like a GREAT mom would and doing the things only their mom can do. I haven't been fully present in all our conversations (have you met Alexis?? She talks A LOT!) I haven't been sympathetic enough to their complaints and sorrows. I haven't taught them something new in awhile, and I most definitely haven't praised them enough. And I really haven't snuggled with them before bed enough.

So I've made a mental list of things that I need to do to try and get back to that GREAT mom status. And I start TODAY. But also, I need to not be so hard on myself, so here's what GREAT mom things I've done today.

1. I did our 20 min. of reading so Alexis can earn a prize from the library. And, the real reason, so she can learn to LOVE reading like I do.
2. Instead of getting frustrated with Tyler for not eating all his lunch, I sat down and helped him eat it.

Also, I did the dishes, but that's not so much in the "mom" category as it is in the "housewife" category. But still, for me, it's awesome.

What GREAT mom things have you done lately? And if you aren't a mom, what GREAT dad/spouse/sister/brother/son/daughter/friend thing have you done lately? If you're too humble to toot your own horn, leave it anonymously.

Wordless Wednesday

Things I learned on the first day of the new year

1. Berkeley Breathed is definitely my most favorite children's author.

2. My kids are so lucky to have cousins to play with.

3. Staying up until 1 A.M. makes me hate myself.

4. My husband has an awesome family (I already knew this though).

5. Every single LDS film I've ever seen is pretty cheesy, and that bugs me.

6. I'm terrible at Boggle, and even worse at Scrabble.

7. My brother in law is awesome at both Boggle and Scrabble and therefore not very fun for me to play with.

8. In addition to black, I also love burgundy/wine colored nail polish.

9. I like it when people compliment the quilts I'm making. Maybe I'm a little prideful that way??


Things Jeremy learned:

1. How to build a wall.