Moved!

We moved on Saturday, and what a crazy time it's been!  I'm not sure I've ever been this stressed out in my entire life (not just from the move...), so it hasn't exactly been easy.  Thankfully, we had a lot of help.  And if you were one of our helpers at any point in time, THANK YOU!

Some packing pictures...

Taking the pictures off of the wall really makes it feel like you are leaving...I'm going to miss that place!

Jim did a lot of the kitchen packing Saturday morning before we loaded up the truck.

Now for unpacking pictures...or actually just mess pictures.  I have decided that we have way too much stuff, and I think it's going to be a miracle if I get through it all.  These pictures are supposed to help me feel good when I make some progress.

This is what my kitchen looked like after I worked on it for several hours today.  Aah!

But...with the help of Jim's mom, we got it into a reasonable state in time for pumpkin carving.  (Notice that the sides of the room are NOT in this picture...)  I was very happy to find my table!

I feel good about what we accomplished today, but I still think it would be nice to be Mary Poppins for a little while.
Tomorrow I clean our old apartment (sniff).  This move definitely has its positives and negatives.  I will say one thing, though; I won't miss those four flights of stairs!

Pumpkin Time

We went to the Venetucci Pumpkin Farm two weeks ago for a school activity, and had a great time.  I remember going there on school field trips when I was a kid, so it was neat to take my own kids.

This pig was HUGE!

Logan had to check out the tractors...each and every one.

Another pig shot...

Audrey thought she would try to feed the horse.

Climbing on the hay bales...

The kids got to pick out their own pumpkins!  We thought this one was going to be Annie's until we realized how squishy it was!  We had absolutely no luck finding small ones that the kids could carry themselves.  So Annie's ended up being just right for Logan to carry, and Logan's ended up being just right for me to carry (balanced on the top of the stroller...).

Tonight we carved them.

Annie's was a kitty cat.

I helped Annie while Jim helped Logan.

Thomas the Train...

For as excited as the kids were to carve their pumpkins, I find it ironic that Jim and I did all the work.  They wouldn't even stick their hands inside to help dig out the seeds (which we had a lot of...I can't wait to roast them!).



Sweet Alex

A Great Answer

Yesterday in church the children were playing a hot potato game, and every time the music stopped the child holding the scriptures that they were passing was supposed to answer the question, "How can you be a missionary?"  Well, some of the kids really wanted to answer the question so they would just hold onto it until the music leader stopped the music.  When it got to Logan he got this bright smile on his face and waited until he could answer.  So she stopped the music.

"Logan, how can you be a missionary?"

"You grow up!"

He had the whole room laughing, but he was absolutely in earnest.  I love my little boy!

No More Yuck?

After Thursday's ordeal, I did some major scrubbing to clean up that mess.  Then on Friday a plumber came and replaced the sewage lift pump which had shorted out (we think that is the reason I got zapped).  It turned out to be a really quick fix (although a disgusting one).  I am extremely grateful that it's taken care of!

Yuck Yuck Yuck Yuck!

So amidst packing stress, we're also finishing up construction stress.  (We move in 9 days!  I could really use another month!)  Last night we slept in our new place, so we could be on location to get some things done.  This morning, every one woke up nice and early, and I thought I'd take a shower.  The floor in the bathroom is concrete, and I wanted Alex in there with me, so I put down a nice thick blanket, and our bed pillows all around him in case he tipped over.  While I was showering, I reached up to adjust the shower head, and got zapped with a bolt of electricity!  I then reached down to adjust the temperature, and accidentally touched the metal around the knob and got zapped again!  Pretty soon I started smelling something nasty.  I couldn't figure out what it was, so I finished up and got out.  I'm pretty blind without my glasses or contacts, so it took me a while to figure out just what was going on.  There was water (sewage actually) all over the floor, and my baby was laying in the middle of it!  I ripped him out of there (thankfully, it hadn't soaked up to where he was just yet), and called my mother-in-law to run over with towels (we're next door to my in-law's).  Boy did that stink!  Our pillows and that blanket totally soaked up most of it, so it was a really bad mess too.  After much ado and much puzzling, we determined that the sewage lift pump had broken, and that it was connected to why I got zapped in the shower.  So I spent a large portion of my day dealing with that (it's still not fixed).  The positive side: we have brand new pillows now. 

A Little Stress

So...taking a break from packing.  I've been dreading this for weeks, and I finally started today.  Does packing make anyone else's head spin?  I feel like I'm just creating chaos!  (The kids are loving it, though!  I've been asked about a million times if we are taking various toys, books, etc...  And they started filling boxes with all their favorite things as soon as I got them out.)  I'm really looking forward to the UNpacking!

Project Patience

I did it!  Hooray!  It's finally finished!  Almost exactly a year after completing Logan's stocking, I've completed Annie's.  I really did enjoy it, even though I suspect it took somewhere around 50 hours total to complete.  These things are very tedious!   

Some detail shots...
Bear in mind that the kit comes with stamped felt, and the stamping only shows me where to cut and place things.  So I did all of that embroidery, sequining, beading, and stuffing.  Her face had 14 different steps of embroidery.  Her hair took a couple of hours by itself.

This cute cupcake took two hours, but I was really happy with how Annie's name came out.

Annie was happy about it too.  I think the sugar plum fairy is pretty perfect for my little girl.  She loves the fancy way the fairy is dressed, and she was pretending to eat the sweets.

Alex's stocking will be next...but I think I'll wait a few months to start it.  My goal is to make one a year until I'm caught up!

School Days

Once a week we have a school activity with a couple of other families.  Today we had an activity that was way too fun not to document.  We learned about cornstarch!  Sounds exciting, right? 

It was!  Annie...

Audrey

Spencer

Liberty

Hayley

Logan

First we played in the dry cornstarch...then we experimented with mixing colors in water...then we added the water and made ooblick.

After we enjoyed the ooblick for a while, we added more water (and more colors), and turned it into sidewalk paint.

This was very fun, and the kids were able to make a mess to their hearts content!  I think cornstarch is an awesome substance...it doesn't stain, it rinses off easily, and it vacuums up after it dries (when necessary)!  Afterwards we had pudding (that was thickened with cornstarch...a fun coincidence), and experimented some more with mixing colors.  Each child chose and mixed their own...we had some gross looking concoctions!  They were all eaten though!

Cuties

Logan Says...

This morning Logan said to Jim, "Wow!  We were dirty last night!"  (We were actually, but that's a different story.)

This evening, Logan fell asleep when I was grocery shopping.  When he woke up Jim was gone and I was home.  He exclaimed, "Mom!  Thank heavens you're home!"

I love that kid.