Can you picture...

Can you picture my dining room AS a dining room? Not just the mostly empty, often cluttered dumping ground/playroom annex that its been masquarading as for the last year? But AS an actual dining room?







How about now!

Its a terrible picture, but I just snapped one really quickly before dinner. I found this 7 piece dining set (there are 2 more chairs, and 2 leaves) at a gargae sale this morning. "Luckily" our van wasn't actually ready to be picked up yesterday even like we'd been told, so I was taking Brian to work again this morning and we passed the sale on the way to work. I turned onto the street to look closer on the way home (thinking that maybe I'd find a small dresser for baby) and saw it, disassembled, sitting on the porch with a big price sign... $50!!! Done and Done! The chairs could use a reupholstery (mostly because they're a little dirty and stained, not torn up), but thats easy enough. And the top has some scratches and could use a refinish, but its not in desperate need of it. It really just looks like its been used in a house with kids... some wear and tear, but nothing terrible. So we'll probably just leave it be until our kids are past the stage where they're climbing on the furniture. :o)

The lady selling was even nice enough to offer to deliver (since it was only about 2 miles from home and our van is STILL having its A/C issue worked on by the dealer...) later in the evening if we came cask to help her load.

And now I'm really excited to actually finish the room. I'm thinking roman shades or bamboo blinds and curtains for the windows, a fun fabric to reupholster the chairs, and some art on the big blank wall. Oh, and some non-carpet flooring, eventually. That one may be a few years. :o)

Tidbits

I used to think my mom was a little strange for sitting, all by herself, in the car in silence before coming in the house. Somtimes she's just sit in the driveway for 10, 15... 20 miutes. I get it now. Take the silence where you can get it.


Hearing your 2-year-old say words like "abomination" and "destruction" makes the frustration of trying to keep him quiet during 4 verses of family scriptrue study totally worth it.


Carter just learned how to take off his own diaper. As in this morning. Combine that with his prior knowledge of how to take off footie pajamas and it made for an extra load of laundry for me this morning. And an unhappy, favorite-blanket-less kid come naptime (its possible mommy forgot to close the washer lid, so the cycle did not run while we were at church). *sigh* No more footie pjs for Carter...


I'm looking forward to getting our garden planted. We don't get the frost "all clear" around here until after Memorial Day, but I'll probably plant the week after Mother's day anyway and hope for the best. I want to add an extra box and fill it with stawberries this year. I have dillusions of having enough strawberries to make a year's supply of homemade jam... becuase it bugs me that most jams are more corn syrup than fruit in them.


I'm too tired to write a real post. Does it show?

The problem with knowing how to sew...

If you know much about me, you know that I'm cheap. Maybe frugal's a better word... but whatever you call me, it means the same. Part of me being frugal means that I buy my kid's clothes a year ahead of time when they're on clearance. I aim to get things 75% off or better. I don't like to pay more than $2 for t-shirts, or more than $4 for jeans. $5 an item it about where I put my cap for kid's clothes, and if its $5, it'd better be a darn good item. Like this adorable dress that I found in store for $5 today...

Old Navy runs a great sale this time of year where I buy a lot of my kid's stuff for next year... so does Target, since they reset kids & baby stuff in January so if you can be patient enough, you'll find 75% off markdowns. But this is really all background information.



While shopping Old Navy clearance, I found this little skirt...

Cute, right? Allison loved it too, so I bought it. And this weekend, as I was going through my purchases trying to make sense of what I over-bought (and need to return) and what I still need, I realized that I don't have a shirt to go with this cute skirt. Or the cute little silver one I found at the Carters Outlet. So I start thinking... what would I like to go with it and I come up with an idea of what I want for this skirt: a cute little white (winter white, I think) button up shirt, out of a satiny fabric... or maybe a shantung... either mandarin or classic collar, with puff sleeves and some pink ribbon rosettes on the upper chest one one side.

Can you see it? Yeah... so can I. And now that I have in my head what I want, its what I want. And, I'm more than certain, it doesn't exist. And certainly not at a price I want to pay.


THATS the problem with knowing how to sew. It gets you in trouble and you start thinking about what is possible, and perfect, instead of just shopping for something that exists and would work. So now, I have to make it. Sewing and I have been a little at odds for a few years now... so I'm not sure how this will work out. Maybe it will be good for me. Luckily, I was able to find a toddler girls button-up pattern. I was pretty afraid that those wouldn't exist either.



Oh, and the other problem with knowing how to sew? Fabric starts speaking to you. Wanna know what this piece said?

"Look at me! Wouldn't I be an adoroable little dress or jumper for Allison? And I'm on super sale... only $2.50 a yard! You know you want me... I'm even pretty Easter colors!"


It bewitched me... so now a dress/jumper is on my list too... as if I didn't have enough on that list already. :)

As if I needed a longer "To-Do" list

For your viewing pleasure. Please note that I take no responsiblity for your urge to do these projects as a result of looking at this post.

I've been thinking I should make some skirts for Allison. She loves skirts and they'd be so cheap to make... cheaper than buying the things. Toddler-sized skirt patterns don't exist (becuase they're so stinkin' easy, but I'm a Type A, so I looked anyway), so I hit the internet. Here are a few of my favorites that my searches yeilded me today.

Lazy Days Skirt. No picture here, but click the link for the instructions. Its simple and easy. I'll probably make this one several times over.

The Dresden Plate skirt. Cute, huh? See the scallop edge? Not being a quilter I had no idea what a "dresden plate" was when I stumbled upon the post. But it makes a DARLING skirt. But, not-so-simple. Good thing I was taught well how to sew well (thanks, Mom!). Find the tutorial over at Crafter Hours.

The Tumbler skirt. Adorable. I love the shape. I acutally think I need to make one fore me before Allison. Looks like the PERFECT summer skirt, if you ask me. Tutorial over at Crap I've Made (seriously, thats the name of this blog).

Easy Whirly Skirt. Cute, simple, looks FAST to stitch up. Another make-it-a-million-times winner by the looks of things. Find the tutorial over at This Mama Makes Stuff.

By the way, if you're in the market for patterns, Simplicity is $1.99 at JoAnn's this weekend. We picked up the pattern for Allison's costume today. I'm not telling what she wanted to be... I was mildly (but not completely) surprised at her choice, and I'm excited that she chose something that I could use as a jumping-off point for costumes for the rest of the family. We might even convince Brian to play along and dress up this year. :)

On a related note, I now aspire to NEVER take my children to Jo-Ann's again. Ever. And if you happened to be in the Fayetteville Jo-Anns before 11 am today, I apologize for the crying, screaming banshees' behavior... er... I mean, my children's behavior.

Dear April 6th

As I'm sure you know, you are the date we selected in our real estate contract to close on our house. There are many reasons that we feel like you are, in general, a great date.

1) You fall in the 2nd qaurter of the year, which is decidely spring. Spring is always wonderful, and so are you by association.
2) Easter generally falls near you (as it does this year). We like Easter.
3) An important event, dear to our hearts and of great religious import to us, happened upon you nearly 200 years ago. It even happened not far from where we're now living.

We feel that soon we will be able to add the purchase of our first home to the list of reasons why we love April 6th. However, dear 6th of April, we have one small complant...

Could you hurry it up? We're anxious to see you... and maybe getting the keys to our house has something to do with it too...

We would appreciate you taking our request into your consideration.

Sincerely,

The Thornock Family

The Perfect Costume

I found the perfect costume for Carter's first Halloween... nevermind that we have a perfectly good purple monster costume that that Allison wore last year and would fit him just fine this year. But I saw this one at Babies R Us the other day and we have to have it. Its $30, and I would never pay that, but I think it'll be pretty easy to make. What do you think?

Too cute, and too perfect, right? I think it'll be pretty easy to make my own... Black sweats & long sleeve onesie (good thing those are available at Halloween), little bit of red, white and black vinyl or something...

On another note, when discussing Halloween, Allison told me she would like to dress up as a princess this year (surprise, surprise!). When pressed, she informed me that Cinderella was her princess of choice. That sounds less easy. Good think we'll probably be living with the super-costume-sewing Grandma... she'll be great help. =)

Economic Cynicism

The more I live with myself, the more I realize I'm a totaly cynic. While I don't have a hard time thinking well of those who I know, I find it nearly impossible to think well of the people in general.

Here's an example. Yesterday I had the noon news on keeping me company while Allison napped. They were reporting on President Obama's agenda for the week, including that he signed the (joke of a) stimulus bill in Denver and then was headed to Arizona, partly becuase of how hard it had been hit by foreclosures. Apparently 4500 last month. Who knew? Anyway, the go on talking about Arizona and talking to some lady (I wasn't really paying much attention), but the story ended on a talking head of this lady saying "The President needs to stop the forclosures here."

WHAT? Okay, I get that times are tough. I get that some people are losing their jobs. I get that some mortgages have adjusted up making payments higher and leading people to get behind on their payments. But while I'm thinking this, I can't help but this "If you weren't so darned concerned with keeping up with the Jones', maybe you'd be far more capable of keeping up with your mortgage."

Like I said, I'm cynical. I just have the hardest time listening to these people whine and even caring. I keep thinking... you did it to yourself. I mean... really, did you need to half or three-quarters of a million dollar home? Probably not. You wanted it. And what else did you not really need, but wanted and bought (often on credit) anyway? And now that you can't afford it, what, someone else is supposed to pay the cost of your self-indulgent want? I listen to "everyone" say that the economy stinks and life is hard. But really... should it be effecting the generally masses this much? I'm mean, the unemployment rate might be getting high, but last I check an 8% unemployment rate meant that 92% of Americans still have a job. Think about it for a second...
I know that some people really are hurting... some people really have lost their jobs and are struggling to make ends meet. But doesn't anyone plan for the rainy day anymore?

What if people set and actually lived on a budget? What if people purchased a house to meet their needs, as opposed to a house that fulfilled their every whim and made them look good the the neighbors? What if people had saved money towards things they wanted instead of putting it on a credit card or financing it? What if people planned to actually save money... planned for emergencies... had money socked away for the what ifs? Would any of this be an issue?

All I know is this: Brian and I don't make a lot of money. We qualify for some state assistance (WIC, and Allison is on CHIP). But what we make is enough. We budget it fairly meticulously, have enough to meet all of our needs and obligations, and even enough to fulfill some of our wants. We have a little money saved for just in case. And this "crisis" hasn't effected us (okay... it might be making getting a job post-graudation a little harder. And now we totally plan to save towards a 20% downpayment on a house, which delays us owning our own home).

Maybe the lesson in all of this is that we all need to follow sound wisdom: Live within your means, save for a rainy day and work (and save) for the things you want. Is it always fun? No. Is it instant gratification? Definantly not! But, it is safe, sound advice.

Number 13

So I told you earlier about 12 reasons Brian and I look forward to home. I forgot one. A big one. Here, in all is glory, is number 13.

AIR CONDITIONING!!!

Europe is largely un-air conditioned. It hasn't been a big problem... we had a mild summer in Berlin and London is mild by nature, but Paris has been hot. Nigh unto down right miserable. We're talking close to 30° C every day (thats around 85° F for all your non-metric gurus out there) and humid, and the evenings stay very warm. I think it goes without saying that we are so anxious to get back to our nice, centrally air conditioned apartment.

Another Dollar Store Find

This if for all you scrapbookers out there... I've made another great Dollar Store find! Page protectors... a pack of ten for a buck! I bought ten of them the other day... can't be that price!

Books, books, and more books

I am currently obsessed with finding books for Allison, and I'm always looking for a deal. On a teacher's salary with a grad student in the house, its hard to swallow the $12, $15 or $20 price tags on some kids and baby books. However, I made a find. Two actually.

#1 - Pioneer Book on Center Street in Provo. This is an AWESOME used bookstore. It's huge and has some really great classics. Its like a treasure hunt. I found a few little board books for Allison that I like for less than $1.50 each!

#2 - The Dollar Store! I never even thought about the dollar store for books. I was there yesterday buying gift wrap (I only buy that at the dollar store) and happened to walk by the kids section, with a whole huge section of books. Now, granted they aren't really as cute as your standard $10 or $12 kids book, but they are still cute... and you really can't beat $1!

In the same vein, I'm almost done with Allison's gospel ABC Book. Its turning out SO cute. Right now I just need to find a picture of obedience (anyone have ideas for where to find one or one you could email me?), get photos of her grandparents and glue in a little mirror for the "You" page. It turned out so cute... take a look!