Just Thinking

I'm sitting at the computer trying to find a pasta salad recipe for the Ward Christmas (pool!) party tomorrow and hear a car beep outside. I go to the door to check that it's not the delivery of Orvon's christmas present that I ordered this morning (hey, I'm an optimist) and think:

I really should put a load of laundry on , it looks like a storm, I'll do small stuff so I can hang it in the garage. Here, I'll start with this pile of Alaina's polka-dot clothes, no I remember Orvon said he was out of clean garments, I'll wash whites. Better throw in some of Alaina's panties, she's been having a lot of accidents lately. Again. When is she going to stop this? hopefully before school starts. Oh I better start getting the things on her school list. should I buy it myself or just get it through through the school? hmmm. I hate how buying school stuff comes right after/ during Christmas. I do love how the summer holidays correspond with the beginning of the year though. I love school stuff, and I finally have a reason to go school shopping again. yeah. Is that all the garments? oh yeah, there's a pile in the bathroom floor. You know, I should write my random thoughts on my blog, that'd be fun. man, the bathroom stinks. there's more garments in here than in the hamper. Better open this window. and close the door, the wind always slams it shut anyway. better take two trips to the garage. won't everyone on the blog think it's weird that my laundry is in the garage? Except Gram, she knows exactly where it is, she must have averaged two loads a day while she was here. I wish there was a way to get my laundry to do itself again. Man, that's full load shove, shove. I really need to try that recipe for making my own laundry soap, it would be nice to save the money. Orvon's always saying I use too much. but this is a really full load. Of underwear. I think that justifies a full scoop. Good thing I decided to do whites, it's such a hot day the clours would bleed.
Boy, it feels good in here. Why am I sitting in the office where I can't feel the air con? Need a drink of cold water. pause and stare Those really are beautiful children. Funny how none of them are wearing any clothes. MMM That's nice. Better fill up this other bottle. It's a shame the Home Teachers weren't home when we delivered our Christmas cookies, those will be stale by Sunday. Oh well, I guess I'll have to take the plate into the office and take care of it. Don't forget the glass, that cinnabon popcorn will make you thirsty.

Now, italian dressing or creamy pasta salad?...

And that is what it sounds like to hear yourself think for 5 minutes, if, like me, you've forgotten.

I had to open my birthday present (a little sewing machine) early so I could make a few things. The most exciting to this little girl was her replica polka dot skirt.
I'm not an accomplished seamstress in any way, and I'm out of practice with a machine. I was getting so frustrated that things like a strait line or even seam allowance we way down on my list of priorities. My goal, in the end was just to make this piece of fabric stick to that piece. I probably could have done a better job with a hot glue gun. But it got done, I think it's pretty cute and most importantly, Alaina loves it (and me all the more for making it, making any frustrations so worth it that I'm planning other ways to impress her just to hear the amazement in her voice)

A Happy Thing

I never really knew what I was missing. This was a problem I dealt with on a daily basis. It required regular attention and all the members of the family faced the difficulty of it. I was regularly frustrated with what I now realize is a rather large part of our life. But you learn to deal with the challenges in your life and tend to forget it could be any different. But, oh my friends, it can be so very different. We have discovered the joy, the freedom, the spacious beauty of...a great big fridge!




This was our old fridge (sorry I'm too brain dead to figure out how to rotate the picture. I'm so brain dead I have a hard time making change at the shop. So turn your head. There. That's what it looked like).


And freezer.


And now, this is our beautiful, more than twice the size, fridge/freezer. I put exactly the same things into the new fridge, even the old cream, rotting veggies and extraneous bits of bread, just so I could see how much more space we have now. It hasn't been properly organized in the 3 weeks we've owned it, and it's already had beet juice spilled in it and food smeared on the handle, but it makes life easier. You know those puzzles where it's like a square with one piece missing and you have to move around the other pieces in a specific way to make it work? Yeah, it's not like that anymore . And, we can throw a watermelon, or turkey in there with no problem, which is nice as we approach the holidays. Maybe it doesn't seem like a big deal to you, but it makes me happy. So, happy early Christmas to me and my sweet husband who let me pick the fridge I wanted (instead of the one that came with a free tv) and appreciates it as much as me because he does (almost) as much work as me around here ;)

An hour (or so) of my life

Imagine this. I'm being all domestic and making my own yogurt. I'm carefully watching as I warm the milk to 180 degrees. Alaina is at pre-school, Lincoln is playing and talking to me, Elissa is sleeping. This is bliss.

Then, in his wanderings, Lincoln remembers he has a little sister to adore and starts kissing and hugging her in her bouncy seat. I call him off her, but the damage is done. She's starting to wake up. My bliss is waning a little.

But I'm the mother of 3 now, I can handle this. So, I pick her up, imagining I can stir, consult my unreliable thermometer and hold a baby at the same time. But, as I pick her up I realize she has poop all up her back and must be changed. So I decide to change her quickly before the milk starts boiling. Bliss is shattered.

Race to the room and commence nappy change while trying unsuccessfully to convince Lincoln I don't need him to pull all of the wipes out of the box. Elissa puts her foot in her own poop. Try to remove outfit without soiling child further. Clean her up. Place in cot. Wash hands. Check the milk 170 degrees. Change my own shirt that has acquired some of the abundant poop. pick up Elissa. Check milk. Try unsuccessfully to convince Lincoln not to return all the spoons he has been playing with to the drawer. Realize I have no hope of sorting them out from the others and concede another victory to a 2 year old. Check the milk.

Breastfeed standing at the stove. Milk is ready. Remove it from the heat to cool. Trip over toy bus. Finish feeding Elissa on the couch while repeatedly blowing up a balloon and watching it fly around the room. Put some clothes on Elissa. Finish the yogurt. Get Elissa to sleep miraculously while being followed by a very loud toy train and it's master. Eat a fun sized butterfinger. Get some lunch. Watch "know or go" on the Ellen Degeneress show. Laugh out loud. Watch Lincoln fall asleep in the floor. Bliss has returned. Anticipate picking Alaina up, knowing that this bliss too, will be short lived.

Decide I don't need bliss.

One Month

I'm a little late posting it, but this is what Elissa looked like on her one-month birthday. We really can't believe how big she is getting.

And her fan club continues to enjoy her. They run into our room in the mornings and go straight to her cot. She has started smiling some and I could stare at her all day just waiting to see it.

For those not on Facebook

Some pictures I uploaded today. I think Elissa is looking quite different. She is just beautiful and a real joy, which is funny since she keeps me awake way more than I care for.

Presenting!

Alaina's very first public performance was on Sunday at her Primary Presentation. She was supposed to wear red, yellow, or blue. All we had was this red shirt, so I made this skirt out of a pillow cover I bought in Ikea's "as is" bin (I love that place). I had planned on making Lincoln an apron out of it, but there's enough left to still do that.

For someone who loves to run up to the stand, she wasn't too keen on sitting up there. I can't really blame her though, she was a little unsure of what was happening. She only got to do one practice and when she went to say her part, they told her something totally different from what she had been practicing (and I subsequently discovered she's been going to the wrong sunbeams class all year). So, they decided simply saying "I am a child of God" would work. Which she did, but the mic wasn't on. Then she got stuck by the straight pin that was holding the paper heart to her shirt and walked back to her seat crying. When I saw she was bleeding I motioned for her to come down, but on her way the Primary President stopped her (seeing only a child trying to escape) when she realized Alaina's cries were coming through the (now working) microphone, she handed her off to the Bishop, who tried to calm her till I just had to walk up to the stand and get her.
So, she spent the majority of the rest of Sacrament meeting sobbing about her injury. I'm glad I took these pictures before church and I hope the memory of it has gone by next year, when we'll have Primary Presentation, take 2!

She's here!

Elissa Fay Gough was born at 1:25 am on Sunday the 18th of October. She's getting settled in and being adored by everyone. We're all doing well. More pictures to come.

How cool is this?

I had to teach an enrichment class on food storage and since I've been working on ours lately, I appreciated the chance to figure some things out. One thing I found was a great space-saving device, a rotating can rack I found here.


I just made it out of cardboard and wood glue. It's not perfect, but I found it a lot easier to make than I imagined. And,hey, it works and that's the main thing!


It holds 12 cans. There are different sizes you can make for different size cans, but I think I'll have to make up my own dimensions for some because of different can sizes.
Apparently it's a really fun toy too. Alaina's been begging me to let her decorate it.


I don't know if you can tell, there's a funny colour coming in from outside. There's a huge dust storm here today (as far away as Sydney). So, the sun is being blocked by all this dust which gives us a welcome relief from the already hot temperatures, but is making all the washing I need to do pretty difficult. (can't hang any of the clothes up to dry) It's also delaying flights because of low visibility. The last time I saw one this big was 2 days before Alaina was born. I worked so hard that day (once again grateful for the break from the heat) that I think I helped bring on labor the next night. That won't be happening today, this time it's inspiring a day of folding the mountain of clothes that managed to get washed and watching old movies with the kids. Popcorn anyone?

The best part about helping Mummy in the kitchen is licking the pot clean, in this case, of mashed potatoes.

And having a sister to help is great.

Or just go for it yourself.
I know it can make things harder to have my two little helpers, but I love having them around. I love how they grab their stools as soon as they realize I'm up to something interesting. And I love how they want to 'mell, stir, and taste it all. And I love the lectures Alaina gives Lincoln for putting his fingers in something with raw egg, and how she won't spread the oil around the top of white pizza because it's gross to her, but it's my favourite part of making that dish. And I love that I have to grate an extra pile of cheese just to be consumed by the helpers. It all makes for messier cooking, but I love doing one of my favourite things with two of my favourite people.

Rock-a-bye Baby

Lincoln likes to have a little toy in bed with him for his nap. He plays a little, then falls asleep. But, when he asked to take his toy guitar to bed one day, I thought there was no way he'd actually fall asleep with it. I was wrong.



After a few minutes I didn't hear it playing anymore, and this is what I found. He's a great, easy sleeper. Usually.

Alaina's new skirt

Alaina has been in love with this skirt since Gram bought it 2 years ago.


She wears it whenever possible. It's in the freezer at the moment because she got gum in it.


But, it's getting too small, so I decided to make her another one.

I found some almost identical fabric, and just finished my practice version.


I am surprised that it turned out as well as it did, since I didn't think I was a very good seamstress. It's not as full as I wanted since I discovered a metre wasn't quite enough fabric, but we have a metre and a half of the polka-dots, so we should be good. It's not as cool as the skirt Micah just made for Abigail, but since I'm just beginning, I think I did awesome (and did it all on my hands, since I can't justify buying a sewing machine till I feel like I'll be able to actually make usable things with it).


It seems to work just fine for it's essential purpose of spinning.

Here comes the bride

The other day at dinner, Alaina announced that when she was my age, she thought she wanted to marry Lincoln. I told her I was sure that by the time she was my age she would change her mind. ("But Lincoln IS awesome and will be a good husband for someone one day.") "And besides" She added, "Lincoln eats like a wild animal." To be fair, he did have a bad cold and really couldn't breath if he closed his mouth, so she wasn't wrong.

I asked her what kind of husband she would like to marry (aside from the stated pre-requisite that he not eat like a wild animal). "One that is nice and good and...you know...Handsome!" So she asked me "When you met Da...This one, did you know it was the husband you wanted to marry?" I told her that as I got to know Orvon I learned he was kind and loving and thoughtful, and when I fell in love with him I knew I wanted to marry him. To which she rolled her eyes and Orvon asked if she was fifteen. (We ask ourselves that a lot.)

I guess she's excited about marriage, because when my Visiting Teachers were here one asked why we go to the temple and Alaina blurted out "To get married!" She's always talking about what she'll wear and the flowers that will be in her hair, etc. I don't remember being like when I was little, but then I'm sure I don't remember ever wanting to marry my brothers!