It says JOSH

So the votes are in, and apparently my use of alien parts to spell the name was too obscure for people to get unless they were told it spelled out a name. What a shame, I really put some thought into this one! It's still cute...but it stinks that you have to point out your cleverness...it sort of defeats the point of being clever.



In retrospect I shouldn't have mentioned that it said Josh...because when you know, it changes everything. Try to look at it with an unknowing eye...and you'll think "what a cute alien, I wonder why there is a sideways J there."

Can't Breath...literally

I just completed day 1 of week 1 of the couch-to-5k program. I've done this program 2-3 times now...but it seems I get to the end, run a 5k (REALLY slowly) and then taper off again. So here I am 2 years after my last "run" through the program, starting from square one. Again.
It was a perfect fall evening. I was alone with nothing to do (kids were with grandma and I didn't have enough time to go home to do anything) and at first I started to do NOTHING. Then suddenly, I decided I could do nothing or I could start something. So I got up, put on my running shoes and went to the closest park.
The weather was perfect, the leaves were stunning and I completed the first day without a problem. Though...there was a moment after the 5th run where the narrator of the podcast says "by now you should be feeling good; not tired or out of breath." Wait...what?!?! I'm NOT supposed to be tired or out of breath? What about dying and breathless, does that count? Seriously...WHAT?!?! Was there a pre-training program for the training program that I missed?
No matter, after some strange gestures and looks to myself I kept on trucking. I made it through the last 3 runs, even sprinting through the last 20 seconds of the last run. (But it took me the entire 5 minute cool down to cool down.)
My sister proposed that we run a half marathon together in one year, she's even picked it out. So with the completion of this run I'm like 1000th of the way there.

You gotta start somewhere.

Complete PJ Set

Here is the complete set...if you look not-so-hard you will see that the fabric is upside down (go me). This is part of why I don't use patterns (I did here) because I seem to go into robot mode and just follow the directions instead of using my brain. It's sad I know...but it wasn't worth scrapping the fabric and cutting again...I figured she'd never notice...so who cares?
In the end it's not my favorite pattern...but it was a 99 cent easy-sew Simplicity, so what did I expect? The neck lays a little funny and in the end I got lazy and I just sewed the elastic directly to the fabric. But I did make the pants and shirt big enough to fit for next year...so that's cool. Now I have to finish the Luker's pants.

And hey...if you accidentally cut a hole in your fabric...just patch it with a little love.
(why does this always seem to happen to me?)

Dreaming of the Simple Life

We met the trailer at the new house yesterday. It got there only moments after I did...which was unfortunate because I didn't have the key to get in the gate. (Jon had it) So I had to pop the kids over the fence, then climb the fence myself...run to the front door to get the spare out of the lockbox, then run back and unlock the gate...pull the car in and then act like I wasn't totally out of breath and looking like an idiot.


After it was dropped off and the dust settled, the kids started playing...as if this were somewhere we usually stopped and played. It felt great. The kids traced each other with chalk, and tried to climb the little unknown tree in the front yard. Laurel collected the fruit off of it so that we could try and figure out what it is. It's always good to have an already-established edible fruiting tree...not so good if it's poisonous. So come on tree people....can anyone identify? The closest I can get is a Lychee...but I'm wondering if we aren't too far north? And it's fruiting in October so it doesn't seem to match what I see online. Cutting it open you can see the three seeds and creamy peach/orange flesh. And I would say it smells like a cross between a pumpkin and a peach. (Or like a spicy peach) Anyone?!?!

Promised Pajama Pants

I've been promising my kids pants for weeks. I've told them since Novemeber of 2008 that I would make them PJ pants out of Halloween fabric that I picked up for 25 cents a yard. (By the way if you ever see fabric for 25 cents a yard...buy it.) I don't care if you even like it...use it for stuff that doesn't matter, or in my case for prototypes. It saves you from having to use good fabric on not-good projects. I bought yards and yards of these fabrics...and now it was time to pay the piper. I made Laurel's first and she didn't like them. Not for any special reason, she just felt like being cranky. So then I put eyes on them and magically she loved them.

Honestly, I liked them a lot better at that point too.

Three Dates

It's hard to imagine that my youngest siblings are old enough to date...and yet...here they all are. Three dates, three kids...one weekend. While Co and I are floating somewhere between thirty and forty...and Erik at 21 is floating around China...my youngest three siblings still seem like children to me. But alas, it doesn't last forever. Cody had homecoming, Hallie had a father/daughter dance (ok so there are a few more years yet to wait for her...but she doesn't look like it here!), and Abigail had a non-date date (meaning she and a boy had plans to go to this thing together...but neither is allowed to call it a date) Here they are...growing up faster than I can keep up.




Incidentally Jon and I went on a date last week to see You Again, and realized at our current entertainment budget we can no longer afford to go to the movies at full price. (Not that we've ever gone often...maybe 3 times a year) But this was a wake up call...tickets for 2 $23. One shared soda $5. Then there was the candy we snuck in ($2) and the coffee and snack we had after the movie ($10). Forty bucks and we didn't even get a meal!

Baby Boy and Little Man

This was a totally unplanned outing...Jon's friend called us up and invited us. We immediately said yes, and then realized this wasn't a free (or cheap) thing. At $7 per person to get in, $20 for 20 tickets and more money for other rides, food, games, etc...this wasn't our typical Sunday afternoon. But...it made us realize that sometimes you need to spend some money to have some fun. (I stress sometimes...it's easy to go crazy and then go into debt!) But, in that afternoon I watched my kids get older before my eyes...though thankfully my baby boy still showed he was a little bit of a baby. (though not for long)

First was the petting zoo...turkey, zebra, camel, goats...the kids loved that. Then came the first ride. Bumblebees that spin around in a circle and go up and down. Laurel and Ellie went together, then Luke threw a fit. So I said he could go with Jon...but suddenly I turn around and Luke is strapped into the bee with the girls. I started to panic...I know...ME...she who never panics. (not never, but it is rare) I started to snap at Jon...then the feeling went out of my legs...and all I could do was watch and think about trauma statistics as my children went spinning by. Then the ride stopped...the kids were happy...the feeling came back to my legs. And Luke was relegated to younger rides. Whew. (In retrospect this ride was pretty slow...but if you had asked me while it was spinning I would have told you it was a death trap) After that the big girls headed for the kiddie roller coaster and the "big" boy went with daddy to the kiddie motorcycle ride. (which he LOVED)

Then came the shark slide. This was an additional $1 a piece...such a rip off...but the kids wanted to slide. So we paid our $2 and sent them up. We asked Laurel to climb up behind Luke to help him out, but somewhere along the way she got distracted. Down came Laurel...no Luke. We waited and waited. No Luke. We paid another dollar for Laurel to go back up. Down came Laurel but no Luke. I asked her why she didn't get her brother...she said she was showing him how to slide. (I guess I should have been more specific) Thankfully the man didn't make Jon pay a dollar, and up he went. Suddenly down came Luke, backwards on his belly. I assumed Jon had convinced him...but no Jon came down the slide. Hmmm. Finally Jon came, and it turns out that in standing there all by himself my frightened little baby (who never cried) mustered up the courage to go down that slide. He's my little baby and little man all rolled into one right now. It's amazing to watch him grow. He never mentioned that he was scared...I guess maybe he was just figuring it all out. And Jon said the climb up was insane, he couldn't imagine how his little legs made it.


Then there was the crown jewel in the festival. The pink dolphin. Laurel has talked about Jessie's pink dolphin for YEARS, and asked for it for every holiday. But where do you get an inflatable pink dolphin? The Country Fair. Thankfully they don't actually make you win it (though she thinks she did...so that's cool). You pay your money, the kid plays and they get the prize of their choice. Luke got a Scooby Doo and Laurel got the famous-inflatable-Jessie-pink-dolphin. Both kids tucked them in last night. Sometimes it's ok to spend a little money. (look at those smiles!)