It's almost Turkey Day already?!?

This year has gone by so fast I can't even remember the last few months. I guess that comes with having a new baby. Little Ryan is now 2 1/2 months old and he is so sweet and fun! I am so glad I keep this blog becuase I can't even remember October happening. Now it is almost Thanksgiving. What has happened so far this month?

#1: I took on the challenge of . . . coupons! It sounds scary but I finally did it! I went to fry's and got $174 of groceries (and diapers) for an amazing $72! That is over $100 saved! Not bad for a first timer, eh? There is a great website for a lady in Prescott that sets up a list of the good sales every week (in Arizona). It used to be free but, like all things, it didn't last. They do have a 2 week free trial if anyone wants to check it out. http://www.practicalsaver.com/

#2. I have started my Christmas shopping. It is so much less stressful when you do it early. Though I am still looking forward to Black Friday deals. I also spent a while wrapping presents yesterday and I decided I am a horrible present wrapper! Maybe I will leave the rest to my perfectionist husband. His turn out so pretty.


#3. Crafts. This seems to sneak into my schedule every month. It is my release. This month has been dedicated to making Ryan's cloth diapers. I have only 2 done but I am planning on making about 10 more (somewhere in between making Christmas presents). I have my work cut out for me, but these days if it saves us money it's worth every second.


#4. Ebay. I have been selling my dad's belt buckles online. I've sold 2 so far! We also went crazy yesterday and put a whole bunch of other valuable stuff online that we don't need anymore. Sadly, we are selling our beloved XBox 360 and all the xtras to go with it. We don't every play it anymore, not even Guitar Hero! Jeremiah and I always talked about how we don't want our kids to be video game couch potatoes, so we are getting rid of the video games.

*If any of you are looking for an Xbox for Christmas I can send you the link.



#5. Potty Training. Simon is doing GREAT! As long as we are at home he rarely ever has an accident. I have even been taking him out to the store and the park in his undies! Hooray for my big boy! I did learn a lesson though. Don't take too long at the grocery store! On the before mentioned coupon shopping trip to Fry's, Simon told me he needed to go. I asked him if he wanted to use the potty at the store or at home. Of coarse he said "at home". Well, I took a few minutes too long shopping for sales and once we got through the checkout, paid and ready to run for the door, I heard a little "Uh-Oh". I turned around and Simon had pee gushing out the bottom of his pants! Suprisingly, I didn't panic. I laughed and turned to the bagger boy and asked him for some paper towels. I cleaned up the floor and stuffed a whole bunch of towels into the basket seat, put Simon in and headed for the car. Once I got him cleaned up and buckled in I started laughing. Simon was such a trooper. He held it as long as he possible could. Next time I'll know that when he says "I gotta go" it is time to run to the bathroom ASAP.


#6. Mini-Vacation. We spent last weekend in Round Valley visiting our parents. It was a spontaneous trip. Friday morning we got a wild hair, I spent the day getting our laundry, church assignments, and packing done and we left that night at about 7. On our way down, right outside of Showlow, we almost hit 2 Bull Elk and a huge black bear. We missed the Elk by only a few feet! Once we got to RV we spent our weekend hanging out with family. Simon had the time of his life playing with Everett and Keaton and their huge collection of Thomas trains. The weather actually felt like fall. It was beautiful! I also brought back a BIG pressure canner so I can start working on my food storage. I can't wait until the turkey prices drop so I can test out my canner!


#7. (the best one of all) Being a Mom. This is where the majority of my time goes, as any of you moms know. I get to tickle tummies, wash dirty faces, find lost choo-choo trians, built train tracks, make bubble baths, dress and undress, rock and bounce, change diapers, pick up hot wheels, change diapers, sing the ABC song over and over, kiss owies, pick up more hot wheels, change more diapers. . . and I LOVE IT! I am thankful that my Heavenly Father gave me these sweet boys!

Bleach Stencil Tutorial

Here it is! I'm really excited about this post. I've recieved many requests for a "bleach stencil"tutorial. I finally got it all together. These shirts are so easy and they look great! The best part is that you can turn a plain, inexpensive t-shirt into a customized creation. For any of you that try this out, I want to see your creations too!

Be creative! There are no limits on what you can do!

Materials needed:

T-shirt

Freezer paper

Craft knife

Iron and Ironing board

Spray bottle

Bleach and water


Step 1: Print out your stencil onto Freezer Paper (Cut a 8.5 x 11 piece of paper to put in the printer and make sure the stencil prints on the non-plastic side of the paper.)

Step 2. Cut out the design with the craft knife. hint: cut on the plastic side of the paper for easier, more precise cutting.

Usually I will cut out and discard the black parts of the stencil and keep the white. (It is hard to distiguish the black and white on the owl in these pictures).

Don't forget to keep the small pieces (e.g. the eyes or the middle of the O's)

Now the hard part is over! Now for the fun stuff.

Step 3: Place the t-shirt on the ironing board and place the stencil on the shirt making sure it is centered. Run a moderately cool iron over the freezer paper so that the paper sticks to the shirt.

This is the miracle of freezer paper! Isn't it great!?!

I do the biggest pieces first and then put on the smaller ones.

Step 4: While the shirt is still on the ironing board, place a piece of cardboard inside. This is to protect the bleach from soaking to the back side of the shirt. This also helps to keep the stencil from coming up when you move the shirt.

I used the back of a cereal box. It is just the right size.

Step 5: Place the shirt on a table or counter (wherever you have enough room). Place newspaper around the stencil to catch the over spray.

Step 6: Mix your bleach water.

I use 2 parts water to 1 part bleach. The best spray bottles for this project are these little ones you can get at Wal-Mart or Target. They are very small fingertip spray bottles. They have a very fine mist which evenly distributes the bleach water and prevents splotches. Hair spray bottles will also work, but they don't always have a fine spray.

Step 7: Spray!

Spray just enough to make the shirt damp. If you spray too much it will soak into the fabric and smudge your beautiful, crisp lines.

(I also used rocks to hold down my newspaper. )

Step 8: Let the bleach dry and spray again. Keep doing this until you get the desired lightness. I was lucky on this one, it only took me 2 sprays and it was white. Usually it takes me from 3 to 5 times to get it just right.

Step 9: Almost done. When the shirt is dry, remove the stencil and rinse in HOT water. This will stop the bleaching process. I also scrub a little soap into the stenciled area to remove any leftover bleach.

Step 10: Wash and wear.

Wash as usual and enjoy your new one-of-a-kind wearable art!

Pumpkin Guts!

It's been a week since Halloween already and I'm finally getting around to posting my Halloween pics. I had some cute pics that I couldn't resist showing off. We had a great Halloween! I took my boys to the Library's Halloween party where Simon did some crafts and we got to show off in the costume parade. They offered Simon some candy after leaving but instead of picking a Tootsie Roll he chose a pencil. Yep, weird.

Simon couldn't decide what he wanted to be, a lion or Thomas the train. Halloween morning we dressed him as a lion and that night he opted for the Thomas costume. I was so glad because Thomas is a million times easier to put on and take off. In this picture he was really mad at his Auntie Marie for wanting to take a picture with him. I don't think he knew who she was ;o) He thought she was a strange fairy lady. Ryan didn't mind though.

For Halloween night, we went to a trunk-or-treat with Jeremiah's sister Karissa. Simon loved it because he got to play with his favorite cousins, Everett and Keaton. I loved Keaton's costume. He was a soldier. He didn't want to wear his helmet so you could see his bandage on his head from his recent surgery. He looked like a wounded soldier, so Karissa made him his own purple heart badge! I also have to give props to Veronica's costume. It was truly last-minute. Who would have though that socks and a headband would make such good dog ears?

Growing up in small town, AZ my dad and our family had HUGE pumpkin gardens. I remember filling up the back of my dad's pickup to the brim with pumpkins and taking them to a building downtown to sell them. There must have been hundreds of pumpkins! After all the pumpkin experience I had, I am a terrible pumpkin carver. To be honest I rarely carved pumpkins at home. We always painted them instead. Well, in the true spirit of Halloween, Simon and I carved a pumpkin together this year. I cut off the top and let Simon see the "pumpkin guts" inside. I reached my hand in and started to pull out the seeds and invited him to help (thinking that he would love to get his hands dirty). He was really afraid of it! I tried to help him out but when I touched him with my slimy, pumpkin covered hands he had a melt-down. He just said "Mom, wash hands!", "Don't wike pumpkin guts!" So I washed him off and got him a big spoon to scrape the seeds out with.

Here are the finished creations! Mine is the dog and Jeremiah did the silly face. He was pretty excited to carve his pumpkin. He even got out the dremel to carve the mouth. I wish we had pics of them lit up. The smile looked really awesome!

Can't wait 'till next year. I have to out-do Jeremiah's pumpkin!

Seven Things. . .

7 things I can do:
1. Play the piano
2. Sew
3. Make yummy honey wheat bread
4. Paint
5. make Bleach stencil t-shirts (my new obsession)
6. touch my lips to my nose
7. Function on very little sleep (not by choice)

7 things I can't do:
1. Play almost any sport
2. reach the top shelves in my pantry
3. touch my tounge to my elbow (go ahead, try it ;o)
4. Play the saxaphone, or the flute. . .
5. Speak Russian
6. Do a back handspring
7. Drive a School Bus

7 things that attracted me to Jeremiah:
1. Those gergeous blue eyes (swoon)
2. His voice
3. How he made me feel
4. He is even sillier than me
5. He always makes me laugh
6. He always puts me before himself
7. His fun and crazy family

7 things I say most often:
1. That's Silly!
2. Go to Sleep!
3. Simon!
4. I love you!
5. Whatcha doin?
6. Sweet!
7. Wow!

7 People I admire the most:(no particular order)
1. My Grandma Udall
2. My Dad
3. My Mom
4. My husband
5. My sisters & brothers
6. My Mother-in-Law
7. My Savior

7 favorite foods
1. Chocolate
2. Hamburgers
3. Cherry Cheesecake
4. Fruit
5. Pizza
6. Sandwiches
7. Veggies

7 people I tag:
1. Shelly
2. Melesa
3. Amy
4. Katie
5. Ashley
6. Tawni
7. Bethany