LazyDay Expressions

What Our Drive Looks Like Today

2011-08-06T09:03:00.000-07:00

This is an image of what it looks like in front of our garage today. Anthony decided that he couldn't stand the way it looked anymore and so brought some equipment home and started making piles and leveling things out. Just a few minutes ago he headed out with the dump truck to get a load of rock with a very-excited Alexis in tow.

I'm a little excited to see what it's going to look like when he's done. He's even attacked the side area as well.

Do you see that cute little picnic table in the yard? My Uncle Bill made that and the girls are really enjoying it this summer. They eat their snacks out there as often as possible. It's so cute.

I should have some pictures of Anthony's finished project on Monday. Can't wait!

Yvonne

Women's Retreat

2011-03-24T20:35:00.000-07:00

This is where I was last weekend - The Dunes Bible Camp in Long Beach. We had a women's retreat there with a couple really wonderful speakers. Donna Buhrow teaches a couple of courses at George Fox University in Oregon and was our main speaker for the retreat. Her message was titled Revolutionize Your Personal Walk with Jesus and was broken down into three sessions. I highly recommend attending a retreat or seminar that she is going to be speaking at. I would love to outline everything she talked about and share it with you, but I'll let her tell her own message. I CAN tell you it's fabulous.

The other speaker we had the privilege of hearing was Carmen Chugg, a missionary currently stationed in Mestre, Italy. What a delightful servant of the Lord. If you would like to learn more about Carmen, you can visit the TEAM website. Or, if you would like to donate to God's work that she is doing, you can do that here.

Yvonne

Yeah! Some Spring Weather

2011-03-24T14:44:00.000-07:00

Finally! Some "leave-your-door-open-because-it's-so-nice" weather. The girls have been outside a lot today and Alexis thought it would be a great idea to tie a rope to the tree and swing on it. So, Mommy decided to improve it just a little bit to make it a little more fun. I went into the garage, found a small board and drilled a hole in the middle of it big enough to get the rope through. Once I secured the board on a knot and secured it around a sturdy limb, Alexis started jumping off the tree and swinging. That fun lasted until her next little invention.....

This was the "tie-a-rope-to-the-wagon-and-bike" and ride as fast as you can invention. I don't know if you can make out the rope or not, but it's one of those yellow ones that I HATE trying to tie. It worked for a while until she hanked really hard on a turn and it popped off. Kaitlyn thought it was hilarious and laughed so hard she almost wet her pants. She made it to the bathroom just in time.

My sweet, sweet babies playing outside. Oh, forgive me, I mean my little girls (Katie chastizes me everytime I call her my baby - "No, Mommy, me a little girl.").

We got all of our school work done earlier this morning so we've spent a few hours soaking in the little sunshine that graced our neighborhood this afternoon. I can't wait for Summer.

Yvonne

Great Homeschool Link

2011-03-22T13:00:00.000-07:00

One of our good friends at our church has a wonderful homeschooling site that gives great encouragement, advice, techniques, and how-to's to tackle the sometimes very difficult task of homeschooling a generation of God-fearing children. The site is http://www.homeschool-life-situations.com/ and is a great tool and resource for those of you who have chosen this path of educating your children.

You will find links on homeschooling special needs, making homeschool fun, homeschool planning, and much more. Being a homeschooling mother myself, I know that it is such a help and blessing when I can find tried and true ideas and methods from other, more experienced, mothers. Take a peek around the site and see all the goodies that are there. Let me know what you think.

Yvonne

Jumbo Coloring Fun

2011-03-17T18:24:00.000-07:00

Bring out the big tub of crayons! Grandma has just given the girls jumbo coloring books. Alexis chose the Princess book and Katie liked the Fairies one. And off they go ......coloring? .....creating?......nope, arguing over the crayons. (Insert deep Mommy sigh and eye-roll). I did, however, get to capture a couple of moments when the room was quiet and all you could hear was the smooth application of crayola colored wax on paper. Ahhhh...that's a beautiful sound :)

Did you notice what Alexis was coloring? Yes, that would be a horse....surprised? Me neither. She saw that page and did a full-on freak-out. I told her that if she did a good job I would hang it on the wall. She nearly wiggled out of her skin in excitement. So funny.

Yvonne

A Visit from Darby

2011-03-17T12:42:00.000-07:00

"What happened to our living room?!" That's what I heard this morning from Alexis. I told her that Darby, our mischievous imaginary leprechaun, must have paid us a visit during the night and created mayhem. Of course she wasn't convinced one bit. "Mommy, I know you did it. What a mess." Not exactly the level of excitement I was expecting, but, then again she is six and prone to telling things exactly how they are. Oh well.

Not only did Darby (or, Mommy, as Alexis kept stating) make a green and white mess, but he also left a little treasure hunt behind.

There were six clues signed by Darby ("Mommy, I know your handwriting" *sigh*). Each one had a little giggle at the girls for not finding the prize yet (which started to make Alexis very grumpy). FINALLY, the last clue was figured out and this is what the girls saw in the living room closet:

Two really cute pails filled with candy and other goodies (pencils, stickers, notepads, hand-stitched stuffed shamrocks, etc.). Once all the goodies were gone through, we sat down to shamrock pancakes and yogurt. Mmmm.

All-in-all it was pretty fun (well, for me and Katie anyway). Maybe next year the seven-year-old Alexis will have more fun with it.

What kinds of fun things did you do to celebrate today?

Yvonne

Back to the Doctor We Go

2011-03-15T09:25:00.000-07:00

We just ended a round of amoxicillin with the girls. Katie had a sinus infection and Alexis had a double ear infection. Guess what? It didn't work. Back to the doctor we go again. Both girls are still sick and it's been three weeks. Yikes. But then again, Anthony and I have had ours for four and a half weeks. Whatever this new bug is that's going around, it's been lasting a really long time for everyone.

One good thing about the doctor visit is that we'll get to see our doctor who had retired a while back. He's covering for our new doctor who's on paternity leave. The girls are very excited. Dr. Mason is one of the best pediatricians out there. He gets all kinds of loves from the girls, and they don't mind a visit to the doctor when they know he's going to be there. They don't even ask if they're going to get shots. Pretty impressive, huh?

Yvonne

Stuffed Shamrock Sally

2011-03-14T20:57:00.000-07:00

This is the little cutie I made the other day. Katie dubbed her "Sally" and I think it fits quite well. I am in the process of making 11 more (nice even dozen - smile). It's an easy project for the upcoming holiday, and oh-so cute.

Materials needed:

Light green felt
Dark green felt
Shamrock cutout printed on cardstock (got mine from google images and just copied and pasted onto MS Word)

Black eyes - 6 mm (got mine at Joann's)
Black embroidery floss
Red embroidery floss
Fiberfill

Instructions:
Use the shamrock cutout to trace shamrocks onto your light green and dark green felt. Make sure that you flip the cutout to face the opposite way on one of the colors. That way you can hide the trace marks when you sew them together. Cutout all the shamrocks. Take the light green shamrocks and figure out where you want the eyes to go. I put some close together and some farther away. It's just personal preference on this part. I used an awl to punch through the felt so I could get the eyes in. Then put the backing on the eyes so that they don't fall out. Once the eyes are in, use a fine sharpie marker to draw a cute smile and then embroider with red floss. Put the light green and dark green shamrocks together and stick all the way around with the black floss, leaving enough room to insert the fiberfill. Finish up the stitch and then marvel at the cuteness.

Yvonne

Squishy Baby Ball

2011-02-22T21:20:00.000-08:00

I've done it!!! I have finished the squishy baby ball that I've been working on for my neice. And, I've just found out that my sister-in-law is going to be having a baby girl in May (yeah!!). Guess I'll have to make another one.

Oh, and guess what my husband has done for me? Just look and see...

Isn't it beautiful? I love, love, love, love it. I'm still waiting for the drawer that goes in the top of that left-hand cabinet. Oooo, I'm so excited. A real space to escape when I'm taking a few minutes from mommy-duty. Glorious!

If you love the desk and want to build something similar, head on over to Ana White's site and grab the plans. Type in CPU Base plans in the search box to get the plans for the two cabinets, then type in Corner Desktop plans to get the plans for the top. My husband is no carpentar, yet look, it's awesome. Her plans are wonderful.

Yvonne

Squishy Baby Ball

2011-02-20T16:04:00.000-08:00

I just love the idea of these sewn squishy balls. I'm in the process of making one for my neice who has just turned 1. The picture and a tutorial on how to put it all together is here. The one I'm making up is with pink and brown material. Hopefully, I'll have it done soon and be able to post it.

The girls and I are having one of those cyclic cold virus days. I think the little one got it from a cousin and then passed it to the big one and now to me. Yeah......building the immunities. Such fun. However, it does give me an excuse to sit and craft and not do housework. Cough, cough.....too sick for housework :).

Yvonne

Stepping Heavenward

2011-01-17T12:49:00.000-08:00

If you have not picked up this book yet, may I suggest you do so at your earliest convenience. You will most certaintly NOT be disappointed. I finished it just a week or so ago and will be reading it at least two or three times a year from now on (it is that good). If you've wrestled with what it truly looks like to be Christ-like in character, to be wholly loving and giving, kind and self-sacrificing, while maintaining a peace and utter joy of a life for your Lord.....this book will show you one woman's journey to this elevated place. There are so many treasures and godly wisdoms to be gleened, you can't possibly attain it in just one read. What an awesome book for a group study this would be.

If you have read it, tell me what you think.

Yvonne

A Book Worth Reading

2011-01-03T13:17:00.000-08:00

Head on over to Vita Familiae and take a few minutes to read about this inspiring and God-filled book. You could even win a copy if you leave a comment of three things your grateful for at this moment.

Yvonne

Grown-up Talk

2010-12-30T12:46:00.000-08:00

I was blessed to have a wonderful friend come over for a couple hours today with her little girl and indulge me in some grown-up mommy talk. It was fabulous! Thank you Sarah. I also promised her that I would blog more often about what's going on in our lives.

I was reminded today of the importance of regular fellowship for us stay-at-home/homeschooling mothers. I can get so caught up in the everyday activities (and messes) of life that I forget to reach out for support, advise, and just good old talk time. It is so refreshing, inspiring, and uplifting to share the stresses, triumphs, and questions with those who are in the midst of similar situations. For instance, I found out today that I'm definitely not the only one who struggles with balancing housework and kids, even though it feels like it most of the time. Imagine that.

I think that fellowship should most certainly be on my list of things I would like to improve in the coming year. Oh my. Just thinking about things to improve has my mind reeling. There are so many things to tackle. I think this calls for some serious thought and feasible expectations. A list of five things would probably be a good start. I'll whittle down my list and produce something manageable for the new year. I may or may not post them, so don't hold your breath.

Yvonne

Dogs and Hail Storms

2010-10-25T20:17:00.000-07:00

The poor moping puppies are having to lay still by the stove and finish drying off after I saved them from the nasty hailstorm that passed through our neighborhood. Unfortunately, we haven't gotten around to building their doghouse yet, and the weather is turning worse and worse. The hail started earlier this evening and it was a doozie. The poor pups didn't have anywhere to hide from it, so I brought them in the house (even though I really don't like dogs in the house). I ended up giving both of them baths because they were just downright nasty. Boy was that a chore. They wouldn't leave each other, so they both ended up in the bathroom with me. Sigh.

After the comedy of washing two nervous dogs and getting mud swiped all over my bathroom, I was able to successfully get them semi-dried and laid down next to the stove. That's where they've been for the past hour. They're both asleep now. However, as you can see in this picture, they weren't too keen on the idea of sitting still at first.

Now to clean the muddy laundry room (which Danner insisted on peeing in) and the nasty muddy tub and cupboards in the bathroom. Another sigh. Need that doghouse built ASAP.

Yvonne

Kindergarten Box

2010-10-20T13:47:00.000-07:00

I had mentioned a couple of months ago that I had planned on making a fun box for Alexis's special kindergarten items to be stored in. Well, it has taken me a really long time to get to this project, but it's finally complete.

I went to Borders and purchased one of their big plain brown boxes and used some fantastic scrapbooking paper (and mod podge of course) to create a really fun Kindergarten box. Now we have a special place to put our favorite pieces from this school year.

Homeschooling: Our New Adventure Begins

2010-10-20T07:19:00.000-07:00

Just last week (Thursday to be exact), my 5-year old and I embarked on a new adventure together - Homeschooling. My husband and I had been talking about the advantages and disadvantages of homeschooling, where are convictions come into play with our christian faith, and what steps were we going to take. Homeschooling is a MAJOR decision and not one to be taken lightly, so there has been a lot of praying.

We started our lessons last Thursday, and I have to say, it was really nice. The preparation was a lot of work, but the teaching was fun. She was attentive, excited, and eager. It has been this way for the last four school days. It's been wonderful.

We went to visit her old classroom on Monday to pick up her journal and say goodbye officially to her classmates and her teacher. I was afraid there was going to be sadness and crankiness, but it went really well. Alexis got to hang out with the kids for a little while and answer all their questions about what she's been doing and why she's not coming back. I took that opportunity to talk a little with the teacher (wonderful woman) and became enlightened about something. Alexis had been having trouble with some mischeviousness at school (which I knew about). But, I figured out what the cause was. She was bored out of her mind. She already knew the material that was being taught, so she didn't stay focused long. I'm the same way - "Do you really have to go over that again, I already know it?" Now we are able to work at a pace that works for her and with material that is new to her. We're on 1st grade math already and nearly to 1st grade reading. I expect that we'll make quite an advancement by June. I wouldn't be surprised if she's into 3rd grade material by then. She picks stuff up so quickly and it sticks.

I'm learning a lot as well. I've never had to write out a curriculum and make lesson plans before, so that's been fun. The subjects we're working with this year are: bible, reading, writing, math, science, american history, local geography, music, and art. We don't do all of them every day, but we do have daily bible, reading, writing, and math. For the other subjects, we schedule two to three days of each. It's been working really well. We also have daily journaling, where she gets to write/draw in her journal about anything she wants. Her frog entry is my favorite so far. She drew a very nice picture of a frog, colored it, and then wrote at the top of the page, "I kot a frog." I was very impressed how she had sounded every word out and then wrote the letter for that sound.

I'll be posting more of what we're doing in the days to come. There are lots of exciting things planned. Please keep us in your prayers.

Yvonne

Mommy, I'm Bored

2010-09-15T17:04:00.000-07:00

Oh, how I hate these words, especially when I'm trying to recuperate from a nasty wisdom tooth extraction. My brain cells are maxed out at the moment dealing with pain so I was not prepared when those infamous words came out of my five-year-old's mouth. Honestly, I thought about crying. But, then I remembered I have a little tub of small playdoh containers of various colors.

I decided to completely abandon my usually strict rule of keeping all the colors separate and told the girls to see how many crazy colors they could come up with by mixing two to three colors together in varying amounts. It worked. I got some time to curl up on the couch and the girls were happily mixing colors. Thank you playdoh.

Yvonne

List of Fun Activities

2010-08-22T19:57:00.000-07:00

Some Fun Things We've Been Up to This Summer:

1. Flying kites at the ocean, of course.
2. Building sandcastles and knocking them down.
3. Chasing the surf.
4. Sidewalk chalk galore.
5. Playdates.
6. Swimming.
7. Family Fun Center in Tukwila - Kidopolis (love it).
8. Splashing in the river.
9. Running through the sprinkler.
10. Nights around the firepit making smores - Mmmmm.
11. Family reunions.

I hope that you all have been having fun this summer too. I've been reminded at least 20 times today that school is only 10 days away. My oldest is starting Kindergarten and she is very excited to meet her teacher and find her desk. I'm excited too, but for very different reasons. One happens to be the reduction of fighting sessions between her and her two-year-old sister. It has been very loud (screaming, crying, tattling, etc.) during the days when we're at home. Oh my, some peace and quiet - that's one thing I'm definately looking forward to. Yeah! Kindergarten here we come!

I'll be posting a schoolwork memory box later on. I've just bought the box itself and now have to figure out how I want to decorate it. Stay tuned.

Yvonne

Sew a Gift Bag

2010-06-12T17:53:00.000-07:00

I have a confession to make. I have only used a sewing machine a couple of times and it was always with my aunt standing right next to me telling me what to do. However, I was determined to sew a gift bag for a friend and my aunt wasn't available. So, I grabbed the user manual for a Singer Quantum XL-100 that I was given to me by a lovely woman (who will go unnamed - but she knows who she is :).

I spent about an hour setting the system up on my kitchen table, learning how to wind the bobbin, setting up my ironing board, and learning the basic information I needed to know to sew my project. Then the work began. I know that it took me about ten times longer to put this gift bag than it would have my aunt, but I think it turned out pretty good for my first solo project.

I apologize for the lack of fantastic photography (I'll have to develop that skill later). However, I just LOVE this fabric and think the recipient will be please, even if there are a few not-so-straight stitched areas :). I'm going to try another one now that I know the process and know how to do a better job on it.

If you would like to try your hand at this gift bag, you can find the pattern and tutorial at Sew4Home.

Happy Crafting,

Yvonne

Art Smock from Make It and Love It

2010-06-02T10:49:00.000-07:00

Have you seen anything so cute?! I love this art smock idea from Make It and Love It. Ashley is so talented. If you want to see the tutorial on how to put this smock together just go here.

This brings me to a confession. Do any of you use OneNote? I do. I use it to keep track of all the craft projects I want to do when I get time (ha!). I've added this smock to my sewing list and I have to tell you, it's number 45 on the list. I haven't put them in the order I'm going to do them yet. I have a feeling this one's going to be somewhere in the top ten. Oh, how I really need to get my craft area project done.

Recipe Binder

2010-06-01T10:48:00.000-07:00

Do you have meals that you fix every so often that you're family likes but you always need to refer to the recipe? Do you spend too much time searching for that recipe? I used to. Then, I made myself a recipe binder with a standardized recipe template to use with it. It has made my life easier when searching for one of our family favorites, Tex Mex Turkey Soup. All you need is a three-ringed binder (whatever size you want), page protectors, and dividers. You can go as pretty or as plain as you want on this project.

I had a little fun making the spine of our binder suit my tastes. Mmmm.....peppers. I think decorating the binder is the best part of the whole thing :). I still have more work to do on mine.

I like to put my recipes in a standardized form using the template above. Having a spot to put our "family rating" on it also helps to remind me just how often I should use that dish. We use a five-star system and I only keep recipes that rate 3 or higher. And, if you're ambitious, you can add a picture of the dish to the top left corner. It's amazing how just a little organization can make fixing dinner less stressful.

Craft Area Beginnings

2010-05-31T21:51:00.000-07:00

I've had in mind to build myself a craft area in our bedroom. My own personal crafty get-away with just a push of the door (mmm...such precious thoughts). This process will require me to take out one of our windows and do a lot of woodworking, with the help of Ana at Knock-Off Wood. However, as some of you may know, I'm pretty ~~anal~~ picky about my projects and how they turn out. So, before I start building the corner desk unit for this project, I decided that a 3-D model of the finished project would be nice to have (to scale, of course). If you've never played around with Google SketchUp, you're missing out. I had a blast with it. You can sketch up any 3-D image you want - yeah!

This is what I came up with. If you click here, it'll take you to the warehouse where Google keeps their 3-D images that have been uploaded by users. Then, if you type in "craft area" in the search box, you'll see my model pop up. I'm in love with the program. Now I can see what our room is going to look like when I'm all finished. Of course I'll have to add some custom built nightstands and a king captains bed that Ana so graciously shows people how to build on her site.

Do you see that middle portion of the unit that sticks out? I'm going to put my embroidery machine there. Finally, I'll have a permanent location for it. I feel all warm inside just thinking about it :).

File Folder Journal

2010-05-31T10:07:00.000-07:00

I found myself in need of another journal I could carry around with me at all times. My purse is relatively roomy, so I decided to make another 5 1/2" x 8" - this time with a cover made from a pretty file folder I had. I found that I have to carry a journal with me at all times because my girls are always doing/saying funny or outrageous things that I will undoubtedly forget by the next week. So, having a place to jot down those things, along with my own mind's musings, has been absolutely invaluable.

Journal with file folder cover.

Last time I made one of these journals I used some pretty cardstock for the cover. This time, I had this really pretty file folder that added a little more heftiness to it. I also decided to add a brad and some elastic so it would stay closed in my purse. I'm very excited and just love how the colors turned out. Can't wait to start writing in it.

I will be adding a tutorial on how I made this in a future post. Need to get some more pictures of the process :)