Go-cation

We are in Washington today.  Also probably for the next couple of days.  That is how we do things.

There was some sprinkling this morning, followed by a bit of shy sun.  There's a rooster stalking around outside, a cow grazing in the back yard, and a dog the size of a small horse sticking his nose into everything.  I did some weeding in the garden and picked some peas, and there will be steak for dinner.  These are the good times, and they are rolling.

Izzy walked around all morning, pointing at Grandma's things and saying, "Wow!  Whoa!" When either of the dogs comes up to her, she sticks out her hand and says, "Sit." (This she learned from our next door neighbor, who has a dog that actually listens to commands.)  One of her cousins filled Izzy's hair with dirt and grass seeds, so that means a bath later tonight.  Pretty much Izzy is having a wonderful time.

Tomorrow we are going to pick blackberries.  They will be delicious, and some of them will probably end up as a pie.

Ha ha, woo!

Books in boxes.

Is there anything better than getting books in the mail?  Maybe.  But right now I am not going to think of what those things are because that would be counterproductive to my happiness.

Okay.  Maybe I'm thinking about cake just a leetle bit.

Summertime!

We have been busy.  Sometimes busy doing things, other times busy not doing things.  That is what summer is for, yes?

Painting our bedroom and bath:

Painting Izzy's room:

Painting thrift store treasures to go in Izzy's room:

(Before)

(After)

Fixing other thrifty finds:

(Before)

 (After)

Making hair pretty holders:

Painting the hall bathroom:

Doing summer things outside:

Doing summer things inside:

 And making messes:

Throw in a great deal of book reading, walk-going, and hot dog eating, and that's what we've been up to.

Life and times

When I got back from my hour-long walk with some gal pals at 7 AM this morning, Matt was still in bed.  Izzy had thoughtfully placed her shoes right next to his head, though, so that when he woke up he would know what she most wanted to be doing.  So we went on an early, windy pajama walk to give poor sick dad more sleeping time.  We had the swings all to ourselves!  Big kids are so lazy during the summer.

Anyway, earlier this week I started off the day by spilling approximately 1500 hair pretties all around the toilet.  Fortunately I have a little helper who loves both the potty and being right where I need to be.

Izzy would probably like to be in my arms during all the waking hours that don't involve kitties or doggies, but sometimes things just gotta get done.  When those things are kitchen things, we've reached a compromise.  Instead of being actually held, she can stand on a stepping stool or sit on the counter.  For some reason, that generally seems to make things okay.  Maybe it's because she can see what I'm doing; maybe it's because being in a slightly precarious position is dangerous and edgy; or, maybe it's because she can touch all sorts of things she is not supposed to.  Postulate among yourselves.

Evidence of my dedicated domestic helper!

Chopping:

(She had a plastic blue knife, so there was a lot more stabbing and poking than actual chopping on her account.)

Baking:

(This also mostly involved stabbing, but this time with a spoon.)

Scrubbing:

(Of course, she had to draw on the wall before she could clean it off.)

Is this officially a mommy blog now, or has it always been one and I've just been in a state of denial?  Next time we'll do something uncharacteristically deep and meaningful.

Refashionable lady

I stumbled across a couple of blogs where the authors make use of their sewing skills and keen eyes to turn ugly/too big/all around wonky clothes into marvelously fashionable clothes.  This is something that I would lovelovelove to be able to do.  So I am.

First off, I had this shirt.

I got it from the Salvation Army in high school, but hadn't worn it in years. I thought it could become a much more attractive shirt if I took it in and shortened the sleeves, BUT I made a few mistakes and ended up with this:

Obviously, I now have a super cool vest.  One that will probably become a beloved addition to the dress up box, as soon as we get ourselves one of those.

Next, I had these shorts:

My mother-in-law gave them to me, because she is a very thoughtful lady.  But they had no butt pockets and made me feel sort of frumpy, so I couldn't see myself wearing them very often.  Since they are such a pretty blue, though, I didn't want to waste them.

Et voila, I turned them into a skirt!

I embroidered a pretty yellow border around the hem, just to jazz them up a little.

Attempt number the second at refashioning turned out much better than the first.  This is probably because after the first flop I payed WAY more attention to the measure-twice-cut-once rule.  It is deceptively important.

Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes!

We have been super busy the last few weekends with the house painting.  It is by no means completely finished, but it is enough done that it is no longer awkward to have people visit our home.

Before, pretty much every room in our house was this color:

Boo, boring!

But now, BEHOLD!!!

I am trying to watch "Bones" and this post is distracting me, so I am going to finish lamely.  Right now.

I've missed you too.

It has been a somewhat unusual week.  My brother has been in town, but visiting us means also visiting various lady friends, so we actually haven't seen that much of him.  Enough to remember how much I like him, though.

I have been sick (cough cough sneeze).  Izzy has been sick (whine whine poke).  We have done a lot of snuggling and movie watching.  There are worse things.

Matt has been working working working, and we have sorely missed him.  But now he is pretty much back to regular hours AND it is a holiday weekend, so we will paint some of our house (oh yes) and probably eat some popsicles outside and it will be wonderful.

Painting is an adventure.  It turns out we have a lot of house and only two of us.  Well, generally not even that many since Izzy counts as a negative person so far as productivity is concerned.  So if you are looking to spend some quality time with either a very small person or a regular sized roller brush, contact me here, in the comments!*

*People I do not actually know in real life need not apply.