Wednesday, April 28, 2010

Spelling Bee

Did you like the spelling bee? Did you hate it? Remember all your feelings about the spelling bee and then wonder what it would be like if it lasted all day, every day, forever. Well, maybe not forever, just for the next few months.

Welcome to my life. Tiger is officially reading books. He has been reading 3 and 4 letter words for about a year, but he really likes Dr. Seuss and other books on that level. He will read almost any book that we get at the library or have at home (even if they are for reading to him). He has some difficulty in sounding out words, but if he spells them instead of sounding them he has much more success in getting the word right. Spelling is his obsession.

He is always using the different alphabet sets (from puzzles, leap frog, fridge magnets, etc.) to make words he thinks are real. Where does he get all this spelling knowledge. Me, all day everyday. My life is a spelling bee. "How do you spell. . .? is the most common thing he says. Especially in the car. He usually spells the 2 and 3 letter words himself after he asks me. But I have been asked to spell dinosaur, stegosaurus, and other such words (not limited to junk science). It's difficult for me to spell "extraordinary" when I am trying to cook dinner and not slice off my fingers. I mentioned this phenomenon to a friend in church and then proceeded to spend the meeting trying to head off such requests quickly so that he didn't get loudly insistent "Mom, spell. . ."

I love that spelling is his favorite subject (it certainly wasn't mine) but it feels like I am in 1st grade spelling all day long. Just imagine if your kid asked you to spell every difficult word that came up in conversation with him. How much fun would that be for you.

Monday, April 26, 2010

Lots to Love

There's lots to love about Blanket. He's really cute. He loves trains. He loves his brothers. He has his Nursery leaders wrapped around his finger. He is very obedient for them. He is cheerful. He smiles all the time. He loves music, coloring, singing. He is resourceful and solves many of his own "problems." He uses please and thank you. He is much better behaved (in general) at church than Tiger.


































But it's possible my favorite thing about him is naptime.

My Pearl of Great Price. . .

. . .and cute too.

The Terrible Twos


Blanket is 2. And right now he is VERY 2. Somedays I wish he wouldn't act is age. But he is sooo cute I have a hard time not wanting to let him get away with being 2.
He colored on the walls when he was one. Lately, though he has only been coloring on the floor, and the furniture, and the library books. Each time I vow to make all marking utensils disappear and he finds another one somewhere.

He loves exploring and touching everything. He loves computers, but has no concept of how to interact with them. He makes messes if we leave doors unlocked. He has to be super supervised to keep things like this:
from happening.
Thanks to the great people at the Apple store in Park Meadows and the one in Littleton I got this fixed in one long afternoon. I managed to find about a third of the missing keys near the computer, another third Blanket handed to me in a different room, the last third have been lost in the great abyss of lost objects. I needed 6 or so keys, 3 scissors (the white things) and hope that all the keys worked again.
On a positive note, after going to time-out (and self-imposing a very long punishment time) for this little event Blanket has not touched the computer on his own since.

More Curtains

I made curtains for Tiger's room when he was 3 months old.
I made a matching set about 2 years ago for the other window in his room.
A couple of weeks ago I made these:

They are on my french doors to my back yard.
I like the doors (more than a sliding door) but have always wanted these window covered.
See, from March until about November they let in the late afternoon sun. In June and July it is really hot and really bright.
And now, the sun hits the hardwood and makes a nasty reflection on my TV.
B.A.R. had finally had enough of the sun/reflection/brightness issue.
For a mere $60 (heavy-duty thread, heavy needles, fabric, blackout fabric, and 4 curtain rods) we got the window coverage we wanted.
Only one problem: it's so dark in the kitchen during the day that I have to turn the light on.

For the first time

B.A.R. and I have been married for almost 9 years. We have lived in 4 states, in 3 time zones. We have had 6 addresses and have owned 3 homes. We have done dozens of different things living in all of those places. It's hard to imagine that there was anything we wanted to do together that we had never done before.
Then, on April 3, we did something we had never done in almost 9 years. We watched LDS General Conference in our own home. We purchased a TV, and satellite TV service just for the occasion.
B.A.R. really wanted to buy us a new TV for Christmas, but thought they were a little overpriced. Then Samsung came out with a newer model and this one was really inexpensive (as far as plasmas go). We both wanted a plasma (instead of LED) and wanted it big enough to truly enjoy. So for my birthday/late Christmas we got a new TV:


A new 58" plasma with HD capability is just no good without HD programming, and so we got DISH network to go with it. The day after it was installed (the transition took most of the day) we got to sit in our house and enjoy Conference.
That little shelf (on the side) love it too.
Firsts: Buy TV, Buy TV Programming, Watch Conference from home.

To see what we got rid of see this post, and this post to understand us and our purchasing choices better.


Meet my newest sewing friend.

His name is Bodkin.

He makes projects like this:
and this:
much easier.

I bought vinyl tablecloth fabric for my table and chairs. I had just added a leaf to my table and it was nearly impossible to find a tablecloth in the right size. I made a pattern for the seat covers out of the seat. I just traced it and added about 4 or 5 inches. For the top, I cut out a rectangle the length of the table +10 inches (5 for each end). I made casings and put elastic in so that the tablecloth can't be pulled off the table and the covers fit the seats nicely. Additionally, it is inexpensive (less than $12 for all the fabric, thread, and elastic) and is easy to clean: kid-proof.

Catching up

There are lots and LOTS of reasons why I haven't blogged in a while. I do not need to bore you with even the least of these. Instead I intend to blog as much as I can in the next few days and get somewhat caught up. I have been busy and taking some pictures along the way. Those I will share with my devoted (and undevoted) readers.