Picture Me

I saw this fun tag on Gerb's blog and thought I would try it out (considering my love for photography right now).

The instructions are as follows:

• Flickr Search: http://www.flickr.com/ using the answers to the questions (below)
  
• Using only the first page, pick an image.
• Copy and paste each of the URLs for the images into Mosaic Maker (http://bighugelabs.com/flickr/mosaic.php).
• Save the image and blog it (if you feel so inclined).
  

1. What is your first name?
2. What is your favorite food?
3. What is your favorite color?
4. What would be your favorite drink?
5. What is your dream vacation?
6. What would you say is your favorite hobby?
7. What you want to be when you grow up?
8. What do you love most in life?
9. What is one word which describes you?

When you search it brings up really random pictures that don't seem to have anything to do with the word you put in, but there is usually something there that draws my interest.

Speaking of pictures, here is one I printed off today. Sorry about the white corner again—I really should stay away from a certain enlarger.

Easter Basket Tutorial

I hope this will make sense to all of you. These really are very easy to make.

You need:

3 pieces of 12x12 paper (1 cardstock, the other two of any type; even scraps will do).
Adhesive of some sort
Paper cutter and scorer
Hole Punch
Ribbon



You will notice my paper is missing an edge. Just ignore that...it was the only 12x12 piece of cardstock I could find in my house. (Tyler pointed out that it looks like Utah)

The scoring is not absolutely necessary, but it will make the job a LOT easier. You take your 12x12 piece of paper and score it in thirds (four inch sections) on both sides, creating a grid of nine squares.



Then you fold on the lines. If you score, be careful not to tear through the paper.



Next (this is the hardest step) you want to fold in the corners.



I like to line up the edges and then squeeze the middle like so.



It doesn't really matter how you fold them; just try not to fold the middle square since that is the base of your basket.



When you finish folding the corners in they should all meet in the middle and form the basket shape. You get the idea here even with the one corner missing.



Next, cut out 18 squares that are 3 3/4 inch x 3 3/4 inch. They should fit in each four inch square with a little left over on the edges. For our other baskets we bought two pieces of paper and alternated where we put them, but for this basket we just used scraps and so we have a multitude of colors. It really doesn't matter what you use.



Glue your cut out squares inside the cardstock squares.



On the corners, just cut your squares in half, like so.



Pretty easy huh?

You could leave your inside all one color, but the original design calls for you to put squares on the inside as well. So go ahead and do that.



Now, punch a hole in each corner,



bring them to the middle and thread some ribbon through.



You can put some of that fake grass in as well, if you like.



These are great for Easter, but as Keri pointed out, just change the paper and they could be used for any holiday.

I realize that was a lot of pictures. I hope I didn't insult anyone's intelligence; I just wanted to make it as clear as possible. Have fun!

Must Give Credit

I must give credit lest you think that I thought those Easter Baskets up by myself.

Nope.

I will give myself plenty of brownie points for taking the girls to pick out their own paper and basically putting them all together for them, but the original idea came from Keri. She has scrapbooking in her blood and I honestly don't know if she made them up herself or learned it from a friend; regardless, they are easy and really cute. I could put together a tutorial if she says it is okay.

I do have some great ideas of my own, but a lot...a LOT of stuff comes from other people. Thank goodness there are tons of people with interesting ideas. One of my favorite sites right now for cute crafts and decorating tips is Be Different...Act Normal. This lady scours the web for fun ideas and posts several times a day. Even if you blog sparingly you can just scan through her pictures to catch up, or look through her side bar for specific things. This is just proof that most of the good ideas come from someone else.

Really, what did I do before I had the internet?

Saturday is a Special Day

Saturday is a wild card for me. Sometimes we get nothing done and sometimes it is the most productive day of the week since we are all home. I never really know which it will be. I always want to get something done, but whether that happens is up to fate.

Today was a great day though. Don't you feel stupendous when you get things checked off your list?

Shopping. Check.

Made muffins and attended a ward activity. Check.

Went with Tyler and helped him pick out new glasses. Check.

Did not watch children as closely as I could have, but we bandaged all hurt ankles caused by jumping off waiting room stools. Check.



Dropped off a library book. Check.

Bought a gift and sent oldest to birthday party. Check.

This came back home. She had fun. Check.



Dug and fertilized my strawberry bed. Check.

Bandaged blistered hands. Check.

Made several stinkin' cute Easter baskets. Check.



Let Tyler go play computer games for four hours today (read: I was a good wife). Check.

Made him watch Chic Flic in the evening—Fireproof. Check.

Only cried a little bit. Check.

I would say that makes for a pretty good Saturday. Check.

Spooky

Yay, it's another print day in class, so that means more black and white photos for you to view.

This next assignment was Spooky. I wasn't sure what I was going to take pictures of, but I ended up with a whole roll so I guess it wasn't too hard. The word 'spooky' is so relative anyway. These may seem spooky to some of you, or maybe just creepy or weird. Or maybe none of those things. Pictures speak differently to each person anyway. Okay, blah, blah, blah...let's see some pictures already.

I have always been a little frightened of the underside of a freeway overpass (I thought of you, Michelle). I don't mind them when you can stop underneath for a moment (IN THE CAR) and get out of the sun or rain for two seconds, but the thought of walking underneath, especially at night, creeps me out. So I went out to conquer those fears, and I took Robyn. I love the picture because it reminds me how small we are and how easily we can be swallowed up in space. Oh, and the bird droppings are yucky/interesting to me too. Robyn just crawled right up there, silly girl (it's pretty steep).



I have found that I really like broken windows—not sure why. I ran out of film before I found this awesome jagged window, so this one will have to do until I can get back there.



As for spooky, this is probably as close as I can get and I will probably turn these in on Tuesday.



Yes, it is just chocolate syrup and because I know that, they don't seem as spooky to me. I kind of just want to lick the knife.

This last one is an old silo of sorts. I pass it all the time near the freeway. I don't know if it is spooky necessarily, but it is interesting and I love the texture of the building that is in focus with it.



There are a couple more that I want to print, but I didn't have time today. I really love this class...I will be sad when it is over because when will I ever get to develop and print my own pictures again? I need to figure out the black and white setting on my new camera because I am kind of in love with black and white now.

The Tooth Fairy is Going to be Ticked

I just got tagged where you are supposed to open your fourth folder and choose the fourth picture and blog about it.

So I opened my fourth folder and then opened the fourth folder located inside that and then found the fourth picture (we have a lot of pictures organized just so).



This is June eating Green Eggs and Ham (it was St. Patrick's Day—fitting for March, don't ya think?) She is so little in this picture; only two. In the meantime I have given up on green food and have instead invented the Leprechaun—I like that a lot more.

Opening that picture of course made me open many other folders and reminisce about my children growing so quickly. They do, you know.

Now if I could just teach June to stop swallowing her teeth. She had a second tooth that has been loose for so long that I really wasn't sure if it hadn't fallen out and she had put it back in to tease me. It wiggled in every direction and I couldn't see how it was still attached. Every day I asked her if I could pull it out and every day she said NO! I warned her at every meal to be careful of her extremely loose tooth. All to no avail. Yep, she ate it with dinner tonight. Awesome.



I'm not asking next time...I'm pulling.

EFHE (Extended Family Home Evening)

Kathryn (my sister-in-law) and her boys came down from Idaho today and they were nice enough to spend the evening with us. We had a great time. I was worried about the boys enjoying their evening with us since they are older than my kids and let's face it...we are completely opposite genders. K.J. (their youngest) is the same age as June and they get along great, but I worry about entertaining the older two. So I wound up planning a challenge FHE.

Our treat was locked away



and the keys were hanging nearby.



In order to get the keys, each team had to complete three challenges (mental, physical, and ridiculous). We really had a fun time. Some of the challenges were standing on your head and reciting the alphabet,



passing an orange using only your elbows,



opening gifts with gloves on,



making a word with your body (it says CAT, can't you tell?),



alphabetizing our names,



and even a race around the house despite the blustery weather.



All contestants threw themselves into the competition. I was very impressed and I think the boys had a good time.



I know I did.

Things I'm Going To Tell You

I was going to title this post "Things You Should Know", but really you don't need to know any of this stuff. These things are just on my mind, and I want to write them down.

I started my period yesterday (first one since Daisy). I'm putting this one first because I am SURE many of you did NOT want to know that (especially if there are any male readers—although this should get rid of them for good).

I don't like cramps. Aren't they supposed to be better after having kids and by better I mean, less pain?

I took Tylenol twice today and that is taboo in my book.

Pain makes me cranky.

I don't like to be cranky because I don't think my children deserve it, or my husband for that matter.

Tyler especially thinks that women should not be allowed an "excuse" to be cranky every month, but he tries not to mention this too often, especially during that time of the month.

If I am feeling cranky, I should NOT go read NieNies Dialogues, because she is probably the most perfect, generous, self-sacrificing woman on the planet who has been through so much that a few cramps seem measly in comparison. And she seems to be only sweetness and light to her children and husband.

Reading her blog did not help my guilt about being cranky at all. I really do believe that every one has bad days where they get cranky with their children...except maybe NieNie.

So once again, I am writing this stuff down so that maybe I can remember that life is not about wallowing in one's pain and that I can decide to be a good mom even when I don't feel like it.

I just ate some jello...that should help.

I Guess it is a Good Time for This Story

I have a bad back. I hate to say things like that when I am only 30, but it is the truth. I think I originally hurt it when I fell at work years ago. Then one day I was scrapbooking on my bed for several hours with my back in a really bad leaning-over position, and when I straightened up, it tweaked something BIG TIME! I couldn't even MOVE! I called Tyler bawling because I couldn't even bend over to put my pants on (you all scrapbook in your underwear, right?) He came home from work and took me to the hospital. Of course I had to kneel down in the front seat because I couldn't bend to sit down (longest car ride EVER).

Once we were at the hospital, I patiently waited in triage with all the other people with semi-emergencies. I was holding my back so I wouldn't move and this old man asked if I was pregnant. I am sure he was being considerate, but I didn't LOOK pregnant, and you don't normally hold your back until your belly is two feet off your body. The fact that I still remember this means you should NEVER ask a woman if she is pregnant unless you are sure. Or at least don't ask her when she is in a lot of pain.

I stood there feeling worse and worse until I told Tyler that I thought I was going to throw up. He grabbed a nearby garbage and a nurse started to walk over. I turned to look at her and before she entered my vision, everything went white and I passed out.

Note to self: Passing out is a really good way to get bumped up the list when you are in triage. They will see you immediately after you hit the floor.

Paramedics came rushing in and they put me on a stretcher. I revived almost instantly during this process but that is probably because they had some misinformation. They were told by someone that a person with a head injury had passed out in triage. So naturally they came in and were very careful with my head, completely ignoring my back. They wrenched me up on the gurney with a scream or two out of me. Tyler asked increduously, "What are you DOING?"
"Sir, we have the situation under control. We are protecting her head."

"It's not her HEAD...it's her BACK!" I'm glad he was there, because by then I was thinking that passing out again might be the best option.

Hours later, after many tests the verdict was that I strained some muscles. That's it?? I was given some nice medicine and told to take it easy. Over the years, I have learned that my back does not like it when I have bad posture or do stupid things, like lifting with my back and not my knees (not a myth apparently). I have back exercises that help the muscles feel better but if I do something stupid, it usually twinges for a day or two. Often I can't bend over for a short amount of time, but it always seems to fix itself eventually.



Fast forward to yesterday. It was Skate Night for the school. I thought it would be fun to take the kids. I haven't been skating in a long time, but it came back fairly quickly. However, it is very hard to skate when you have someone hanging on you or when you are constantly balancing someone else. I spent most laps around the floor holding onto a child's hand and picking said child up off the floor every three feet. This was not the best for my back; I was starting to feel the strain.

Sunny was kind enough to take the baby while Tyler and I switched off children, but I was thinking that I might go back and sit with the baby as an excuse to rest my back. I decided on one more lap with Ivory (wish I could go back and rethink that one). We were almost all the way around and our skates got tangled up. Naturally I was trying to keep her from falling, but I totally lost my balance. I fell most ungracefully, like when your skates go straight out from under you, your arms windmill and you land most unpleasantly on your rumpus. Ouch!
I'm going to have to chalk this one up under 'stupid things I do that make my back hurt'...really badly.

I hobbled back over to Sunny, and I was done. Every step hurt. I could barely bend over.
The good news was that the kids had had their fill too and everyone was ready to go home (well, June wanted to stay for the blackout but I wasn't going to buy her a glow thing). Here is the scene of the crime. I didn't get any pictures of the girls because I didn't have the camera (Tyler did) and by the time he was ready to take pictures, we were leaving).



We got back home and Tyler was great putting all the kids to bed while I rested. I couldn't bend my right leg. I had to walk up the stairs all funny and sleep very carefully. I tried to do some of my back exercises, but that was a joke. LOTS OF PAIN, I TELL YOU!!

The good news is that I woke up this morning feeling much better. I think I am just bruised and throughout the day I have been able to walk up stairs normally and even bend down to pick up some things. Thank goodness. I always worry that one of these times I will do something and damage it for good.

Oddly enough, I really want to go skating again; just without kids. Which is worse: the chance I might hurt my back again, or a thirty year old doing her moves at the skate rink?

Makes You Want to Kiss Her Right Under Her Chin, or Not

Warning: GRATUITOUS BABY PHOTOS (and we are going with the 'given without payment' definition vs. the 'uncalled for' definition, because who DOESN'T want to see more pictures of my baby?). Oh, and if you are that one imaginary person who DOESN'T want to see pictures of my baby, I guess you can stop reading now. The rest of you...enjoy.

There was a purpose to all the photo taking today (unlike those other days where I just take photos because 1) I like my new camera and 2) my baby is cute). Yep, today's purpose was to document the amount of saliva that comes out of that little mouth. IT IS INCREDIBLE. The spitting is one thing. I HATE IT. My carpet is now all fun shades of orange and green (curse you peas and carrots).

But the drool is something totally new to me. It is almost non-stop. I watch the color of her onesie change as she soaks the front of herself and then I will finally change her when the weight of the drool is literally pulling down her onesie and her entire chest is glossy and wet. So gross.

I had just finished putting her in a new onesie when I decided to document the drool. So, here it is (in all its glory). You have to remember that I only spent a few minutes photographing her and by the end you can see the color starting to change on her onesie and the gloss is creeping under her chin. She will love me when I show these pictures to her boyfriends.



And then I threw these in because she is starting to think about crawling. She can now roll from her back to her stomach and then scoot backwards until she is sitting up like here.



Ta Da!! And she is really cute in her leggings.