Halloween!

So, I stayed up sewing until 3:30 am on Sunday night. Maxton, really wanted to be Aang, from Avatar: The Last Airbender. I couldn't find any in the stores and for some reason, it didn't occur to me to check online until it was too late. This is cooler, because he's the cartoon Aang, not the live-action movie Aang.

So, of course, I didn't have a pattern, so this is hodge-podged together. The pants I based off a super easy pattern, then I added elastic around the bottom. The cape I sewed in one try, making up my own pattern, and same with the belt.

The collar took me four tries to get right (it's separate from the shirt). I'd never sewn anything like that, and I had to make my own pattern, so that was some serious trial and error. The shirt was a nightmare. The pattern I chose for the shirt was all wrong--the directions did not make any sense (or I was just not getting it, I'm going with the first because it makes me feel better), so I ended up just doing my own thing with it. But, it's done!

I've started a new blog: Come follow my crafting adventures on my new blog. Find me at: creativeirony.com.

In which I Go to Disneyland

I keep thinking about my blog and how much I want to update it. I keep doing 10 projects in steps and rotating them in such a way that I never finish one project. Ever. I have some really cool things to show you. Probably one or two more cycles through my rotation and I'll be exploding with things to show you.

In the meantime, we went on a trip to Disneyland last week or so. It was my kids' first trip. We didn't tell them we were going--which was so fun! We picked up the older two from school and left. It was literally snowing huge snowflakes as we left. In MAY! I was never so glad to leave.

I had a huge bag of activities for the kids to do in the car. Every 30 minutes (I brought a timer), they got something new out of the bag. I'll do a post with a list soon. It worked amazingly well. Almost no whining.

We decided to only go to Las Vegas the first day and stay overnight there (about a six hour drive). We drove with the kids down the strip and let them see all the cool hotels. We saw the volcano going and the fountains in front of the Bellagio. Nice timing.

Then, we woke up and drove the rest of the way to California. We went with my parents and my youngest brother, Ty, and we all rented a house. It was a great vacation--you know, all the regular vacation cliches. Which is why the rest of this post is going to be photos with a tiny bit of commentary.

Maxton waiting to leave the Las Vegas hotel.

 

The kids getting a bit restless now. We did eventually leave.

Griffin lying on the bed of nails at the Discovery Science Center.

I've started a new blog: Come follow my crafting adventures on my new blog. Find me at: creativeirony.com.

New Photos of Me: Finally a Good One

A few weeks ago, I had David take some photos of me in the backyard. I've been thinking for a while that I needed some new ones for the blog.

It did not go well.

I'm turning my blog into a bit of a confessional. A Mormon confessional. I have a lot of body issues--meaning, I generally don't like mine. I don't want to not like my body. I want my issues to go far far away. I'm working on it, but it's such a tough issue. Intellectually, I know I'm not close to overweight. My BMI is near the top of the healthy range, but it's in the healthy range. I've recently been changing my diet to include a lot of whole grains and tons more veggies. I haven't had a frozen pizza in weeks. Ice cream is a different matter entirely. Oh well, we all have our vices.

I'm not perfect at exercising (especially lately, as we've been playing musical cars, someday I'll do a post on it), so it's been harder to get to the gym. But I'm in pretty decent shape. I can get my heart rate up and keep it there.

There are features about myself that I really like. I love my naturally tan skin. I love my full lips and my smile. I think I have very pretty hands. I have a good nose.

I also firmly believe that everyone has things that are beautiful about them.

So why is it that when I look at a picture of myself, all I see are the flaws? I know so many women who struggle with this. It's so sad. I really want to love my body. I think in many ways, it's amazing what it can do. Heck, there are four beautiful children running around creating chaos that are a testament to the amazing things this body can do. Must focus on those things and not the stupid, superficial things that don't even matter. And things I don't even care about or notice in other people, only in myself.

Oooo, let's blame the media and social conditioning. You probably don't want to get me started on all that. I could rant and rant, but I think I'm too tried for all that today.

Anyway, I had David try again on Monday. It went better this time.

Cute, no? No idea why I tend to squish myself all down--I have the worst posture. I do have a neck, promise. Still I like them a lot for the most part.

And then I saw this one. There might have been actual squealing. Pig noises. I think I refrained from grunting. You'd have to ask David.

Because I love that photo. I think I want to walk around looking like that all time--might look a bit strange while riding roller coasters or cooking, but I'd take it. It's a little bit "Glamour Shots by Deb," but dang, who cares, because I actually like this one! I bet I could even wallpaper one of the walls of our master bedroom with it and David wouldn't mind, right? Maybe we could cut the lawn to look like it? Or perhaps tile the bathroom floor? I don't know, but it's my favorite picture of myself, ever. Pardon my excitement.

I kind of want to change out all the various and assorted photos of me on the blog for this one.

Do you like another one better? Do you think it's too serious for my blog? I wouldn't call this a serious blog (most of the time). Thoughts? Opinions? Slaps for my strange body dislike? Any calls to repentance for being so hard on myself? Or for loving that photo too much?

I've started a new blog: Come follow my crafting adventures on my new blog. Find me at: creativeirony.com.

Why (part of) My Hair Is Pink

You dye your hair pink and there are a lot of misconceptions about why you did it. There are three main categories that these misconceptions fall under. They are:

1. You want to be cool.
2. You want to get attention.
3. You must have misplaced your brain.

In my case, all of these assumptions are a little off. 1. I have never been, nor will I ever be, cool. 2. I like attention, but most of the time I don’t really notice it. I’m too busy either watching my children or thinking very deep thoughts about what I’m about to do. Grocery shopping takes such concentration. For example, the other day I was walking on BYU campus and a group of moms with their kids walked by. They were all looking at me. Not nasty, but just curious. I couldn’t figure out why. Then it dawned on me that I have pink hair. And in answer to number three, I rarely do things I don’t mean to do and I generally think things through until tiny little wear holes appear on the subject.

So, why is my hair pink? You are going to be really bored by my reasons, because there are a lot of them.

First of all, I’ve always been conservative. I’ve never been a trend-setter. I’ve always made cautious decisions. I’ve never cut my hair really short. I’m careful not to wear too much mascara. I don’t wear lipstick because it makes my lips stand out too much. I’ve never knowingly shown any cleavage in public. You get the picture. I’ve seen other people with pink hair and thought it looked so cute. I really wanted to try it, but I knew I never would. This brought out my little rebellious side, which has been dormant forever, but has recently been making itself heard. Not since I refused to participate in family home evening has my rebel side been so dominant. So, thinking that I would never do something like that made me itch to do it, just to prove that I would. Not to other people, but to myself. Because it felt out of character for me.

Which brings us to reason number two. I am 27. Now, I realize this is ridiculously young in the big picture. But, I’m getting to that point when I’m starting to realize that I am not younger than everyone else any more. As a teenager, you assume everyone is older than you are. I haven’t given that up yet. I watch American Idol and realize if I ever woke up with an amazing singing voice in place of my my weedy warble I would be one of the oldest ones there. That makes me feel old. I started realizing that if I wanted to dye my hair pink, I should do it now. Not that I couldn’t do it later, but sheesh, I want to feel young and not boring. Because basically my life consists of scrapbooking and changing diapers.

Which brings us to reason number three. A lot of my life is defined by being a mom. The thing is, while it’s a big part of my life, it’s not my entire identity. Yet, it’s not really apparent when I’m out with my four children that I’m not a stereotypical mother of four. Sure, I might have done things the textbook Mormon way, but I’m so much more than that. The pink hair is an expression of that fun, funky, artistic side of me that doesn’t get to show much, unless you stop to talk to me and I tell you that I designed and sewed my daughter’s skirt, made the jewelry myself, crocheted her top and sewed my own wallet. I’ve grown into a free thinker and you can’t tell by just looking at my life. I take care of my kids, volunteer at school occasionally, work in the Primary, go grocery shopping, but all of those public things don’t define me. I’m open to new ideas, I try my best to be kind to everyone, I try not to judge, find good things in weird, not-church-culture-approved places. I guess I wanted people to know that even though I do all the things I’m supposed to do, it’s because I choose to do them. I don’t want anyone else defining me.

Reason number four: I’ve always cared so much what other people thought of me. This means that when I played at a friend’s house, I was too scared to ask for a glass of water. It means that I find myself apologizing for the slightest mess in my house. It means that I would say yes because I was too scared to say no. It means that I had no confidence and less self esteem. I’m done with all of that. I guess in a way, it was to prove to myself that I really don’t mind what people may think of me. If they choose to judge me by my hair, I’m ok with that; not that I’ve heard one negative thing so far, but someone has probably thought something. I’ve grown a thick skin and I’m proud of it.

Plus, it’s just cute and David thinks it’s hot.

And there you have it. Are you bored yet? I wasn’t kidding when I said it would take a long time to explain. Now that I’ve explained it, the coolness factor just went waaaaaayyyy down.

I've started a new blog: Come follow my crafting adventures on my new blog. Find me at: creativeirony.com.

This on the other hand, is not photoshopped.

Well, not the hair anyway.

I've started a new blog: Come follow my crafting adventures on my new blog. Find me at: creativeirony.com.

I am so grateful and excited!

Last week I got a life-changing email (and yes, I come by my flair for the dramatic naturally). It was from BYU-Idaho. They are starting a pilot program for students who want to finish their degrees through online courses and since I had expressed interest in it a few months ago, they emailed me to let me know about the program and ask if I would like to apply.

If you know anything about my school saga, you will know how absolutely ecstatic this makes me!! I left school when David finished, 30 credits shy of a degree. I thought it would be simple to finish up at BYU. How wrong that was! BYU wants you to take at least 20 credits of your major classes with them--perfectly reasonable, except that I only had 2 English classes left to take and didn't feel like taking them all again or starting over with a new major. They also will only let you finish your degree online if you take 20 credits of classes on their campus, which would have been hard for me to do, considering there are four little people running around here and that's why I wanted the online option anyway. I did do three semesters at UVSC (now UVU), but it was still going to take me quite a while to get a degree that way, plus, I left one of my classes mid-semester because I was overwhelmed, stressed and had just had Griffin, so I would have to take that class over again and I've been dreading it.

I feel like this is an answer to my prayers. I can't believe I'm going back to school, but I am. The kids are a bit older now and I things in my life have settled down. I feel ready. Bring it on!

I've started a new blog: Come follow my crafting adventures on my new blog. Find me at: creativeirony.com.

There's nothing like an idiot on roller blades

So, David bought roller blades for himself and for me for his birthday, so we could go together. I haven't been on roller blades in years, although I owned a pair when they first came out. David hasn't ever been. Well, we decided yesterday for our date that we will drive to the mouth of Provo Canyon and then skate to the movie theater to see Iron Man. David bought me some knee pads, elbow pads and wrist pads, but I decided I didn't need them because we were going to take it very easy, since it was our first time out.

We get to the mouth of the canyon and strap on our roller blades. I was a bit worried about getting on the trail. It's a steep incline with a smallish gate at the bottom, but I figured I would be ok. I'd take it slow. Well, I start down the hill, so does David. We're picking up speed alarmingly fast. David veers off to the left to hit a guardrail to slow himself down. I'm thinking about hitting the chain link fence to stop myself, but it looks sharp at the top. I'm afraid to use my brake because I'm thinking it will knock me off balance, so I decide to take my chances through the gate.

Except when I get close, I see that it there is a lumpy dip between the asphalt and the cement of the bridge. I panic. There is no way I can time it to step over it, I'm going too fast and I'm way out of practice. I realize this as I go over it. Then I feel my feet slip out from underneath me. They fly up into the air, I can feel my body hovering for what feel like eternity and no time at all at the same time. Just before I slam down, flat on my back, I think, "Crap, the backpack has slid up and it's not underneath me." It had my shoes in it and I would have much rather landed on the backpack, even with its lumpy load. I lay there, stunned, as a biker who was just behind me rides through the gap and asks if I'm ok. I gasp out a yes, which is a total lie. I realize that my body has flown much further than I would have imagined, since he has room to go through the gate and around me. It's a narrow gate.

David gets there and after a few moments, I'm able to get up. I have road rash on my left palm and road rash over a nasty bruise on my elbow. The worst is my back. All night I couldn't breathe from whatever I did to my ribcage. It's much better today. I have a nasty red mark all the way down my back and it is so sore. I also ended up with a migraine from the tension of holding my neck up. I'm so lucky I didn't hit my head.

It's hard to stop on roller blades. I hate that back brake. Before we go out again, David and I are donning those blessed knee, elbow and wrist pads, going to a nice, level park to practice braking.

I've started a new blog: Come follow my crafting adventures on my new blog. Find me at: creativeirony.com.

In case you haven't seen me recently

About a month ago, I decided to cut my hair. I've been thinking about it for ages and decided it was time. I chopped about 8 inches off and I love it! I can't believe how fast it dries and how easy it is to comb and take care of. Humm, and looking at these pictures again, I've gotten way better at styling it too.

Here's the pics of my new 'do.

I've started a new blog: Come follow my crafting adventures on my new blog. Find me at: creativeirony.com.

I've Been Spoiled

In case you didn't notice, yesterday was Mother's Day. It also nicely coincided with the Stimulus Checks. I don't think I've ever been so spoiled. The kid's made me cards, but I also got Dance Dance Revolution (ok, I got that one early, a few weeks ago. I love it and if I hadn't been sick for over a week, it would have got a lot more use) with two pads. I got a dinner at Olive Garden. I got a bunch of new beads from Fire Mountain Gems (love that place!). I got a new makeup container. It's a caboodle. Can you believe those things are still around? They are much cuter now. Although I just went to their website and apparently my generation is suffering from a bad case of nostalgia because they "offer the classic plastic cosmetic organizers from the '80s in sizzling hot colors." Hopeful, caboodles will not be followed by the return of the '80s bangs. I can't take that much nostalgia. I also got some gift certificates to See's, some makeup brushes (score! maybe it will help with my sadly lacking makeup application skills. I don't know why with my artistic nature, I'm not better at it), and Stephenie Meyer's new book, The Host, which I read yesterday while I spent most of the day in bed with the worst migraine of my life. The headache was bad, the book was very interesting. Not the kind of cult classic that Twilight is (by the way, I saw the movie teaser trailer and I'm willing to just skip to Dec 18 right now), but still better written than Twilight and extremely interesting characters and plot. Despite the migraine, I had a wonderful Mother's Day.

Oh yeah, and my new computer comes today too.

I've started a new blog: Come follow my crafting adventures on my new blog. Find me at: creativeirony.com.

A bunch of pictures

Sorry it's been so long since I updated. Our internet went down for a while and in the middle, David and I went on a trip to Las Vegas, without the kids (thanks again, Mom and Melissa). David had a conference he had to go to, so his work paid for our gas to drive down, the hotel and David's food, so it was a opportunity we couldn't pass up. Mostly we walked around and ate a lot. We went to see Leatherheads, which was so good, very cute movie and the theater was HUGE and completely empty except for us. The next night, we went to Spamalot, basically the Broadway musical version of Monty Python and the Holy Grail. That was the highlight of the trip! It was so hilarious. The songs were great and I'm going to download the soundtrack as soon as I get a chance. While David was at the conference, I staying in the room, relaxing, making jewelry and scrapbooking while watching reruns of America's Next Top Model.

I've started a new blog: Come follow my crafting adventures on my new blog. Find me at: creativeirony.com.

I'm Having a Hard Time Right Now

Sorry it's been so long since my last post. Things have been crazy around here. Some of you might not know that I suffer from depression. For the first time, I went to see a doctor about it about three months ago. I got on some medication which was like a miracle. It really helped me be more even, have more energy and it was so much easier to control my thoughts. Unfortunately, in the last week, it stopped working, and I had a very bad low. Worse than when I'm not on medication. It quite freaked me out. Usually my depression just makes me seem really lazy and mellow and sad, but not so that you could tell. People might just find me grumpy with low self esteem. But last week was real depression with crying and everything. I even lost interest in reading! After a few days of this, I stopped taking my meds, which helped. I really need to do something else, but that kind of explains my absense from things.

Aubrey is still sick. Last Monday I took her to the doctor again with a high fever. Another ear infection, or rather, one that hasn't gone away yet. She's been very cranky, waking up four plus times a night. And on top of the ear infection, she is teething. Yay. Poor thing. Poor mommy. I really need more regular sleep. I had a very bad migraine yesterday because of a combination of hormones and little sleep (been getting them 2-3 times a week lately). It got so bad that David took me to the UrgentCare, where we waiting for two hours to be seen. But at last I saw a doctor and they gave me two shots, which were pretty painful (right in the hip). I was thinking for a bit that the cure was worse than the headache. It did help a lot though, and by the time I fell asleep at 12:20, the pain was almost gone, both from the shots and the headache. Another benefit is that I was supposed to pump for 6-8 hours, which means that David got to take over the night feedings. She ate right before we all fell asleep at 12:20 and another time during the night, no idea what time! Hehe! Thanks, hon, you're the best. I woke up this morning feeling great!

I've been wanting to wean Aubrey, because I know it will help with the depression--one of the many reasons I don't love breastfeeding, but she would refuse to take a bottle or sippy cup. When I got up, she was happy to take one after the two she got from Daddy last night. So, nows the time to make a choice. I think I will keep on with the bottles. I'm just not sure I can keep the breastfeeding up. She's already the longest I've ever made it (I weaned Xander at 6 months, Griffin and Maxton were 9 months, Aubriana is almost 10 months). I know some women love to breastfeed, and while I love the closeness and providing for my baby, it messes with my hormones so badly and does weird things to my personality. I pretty much loathe it. Poor David. I'm not sure if he or I even know what I'm like normally! :P I've been pregnant or breastfeeding for most of our marriage (something like 6 months out of the last 6.5 years I've not been pg or bf).

Anyways, that's my exciting life. Really, we're going to be ok. I'm planning on seeing the doctor again to talk about the depression and the migraines. And soon Aubrey will get her tooth and figure out that screaming all night is not fun. :)

To close, some pictures of Aubrey at the egg hunt we had for the kids at my mom's house last Tuesday. She was surprisingly interested in the contents. She would lean the bucket over, grab whatever was closest and try to shove it in her mouth before I could move the bucket and take out the soggy wrapper. I kept letting her try, just because it was so DARN CUTE.

I've started a new blog: Come follow my crafting adventures on my new blog. Find me at: creativeirony.com.