Lisa and John

I’ve been busy working on some home projects.  First, I rearranged all of our rooms.  We made the small little room into our “master” bedroom.  Our king sized bed just BARELY fit!  I had fun painting it and John and I both love our little honeymoon corner.  It is very cozy.

Next I began to tackle the living room.  This is the before picture.  I really needed some more color.

BEFORE

And, here is the after.  The color is called “Organic Sage”, but it really is more of an apple green.  I love it and it makes me happy.

AFTER

My next dilemma is window curtains.  I am pretty sure I want my accent color to be a blue of some sort.  Maybe turquoise-y.  But, what color for the curtains?  My red couch doesn’t really go with the green and although the black chairs look nice, I think they are too large for the space.  So, the furniture needs some thought….  This picture below was taken during the painting process, so things are a little out of order.

Do you have any ideas for me as far as colors go?  I’m open to suggestions.  Feel free to comment here or send me an e-mail.  I really love cottage style, but the more contemporary cottage style.  Elizabeth says my colors are modern.  I love the colors, but modern isn’t the look I am going for.  Am I difficult or what?

Help…..please…..

Avy LOVES to help me in the kitchen.  Surprisingly, one of her favorite things to do is help me crack eggs.  We make eggs for breakfast every few days and it is her “job” to help me crack them.  In fact, if she hears me even say the word “egg” she starts to bang her fist onto her leg and gets all excited.  She does the same thing when Reed brings in the eggs we collect from our chickens.  She can’t get enough of cracking eggs.

At first it was really messy.  (Even worse than this video shows.)  But, now after a month or so she does very well.  I do have to pick out egg shells, but even those are getting fewer.  I love my little helper.  Not bad for a small child under the age of 2.

I made this little movie so that you could see her in action.  It is a bit long (4 min.) so you may or may not want to watch the whole thing.  Her little smile at the end is cute, though.  Grandma and Grandpa will want to see it all!  (Oh, and it does look like it takes a minute to load….)

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Remember Kelsey?  Well, she was blessed in November.  It was a quiet, beautiful service.  Here is Avy admiring the “bebe” afterward, but she didn’t want to smile for the camera.

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Here are the kids having fun with Papa!

I have no idea what Reed was doing here, but I thought it was a cute photo.  He is a fun, happy kid!

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Grandma Pratt came over one day a few months ago and brought the boys these spinning top things.  They were somewhat complicated to figure out how to operate.  We looked to the packaging for help in knowing what to do….

Say what???

Can we say “MADE IN CHINA”???  (The boys did figure it out and enjoyed the tops for about 1.1 day until they broke.)

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Here is Avy at the Cablelas hunting/outdoor fun store.  She loved all the fishes.

Another cute pic of Avy.

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This is how Calvin can be found just about every waking hour.

Don’t you just love to make something out of nothing?  Here are a few thoughts from President Uchtdorf (from my church) that were put into a short video from the Relief Society broadcast last fall.  It is from the www.lds.org website.

Create Video

He expresses that because we are Heavenly Father’s children and He created us, that we have those same desires to create here on earth.  And, yes, we help create children, but we also have a desire to make the world around us a better place.  To create something out of nothing.

So, I wanted to post a few things that I have created this past year.  It has been so fun to try new things and CREATE stuff for my home and for others.

First, I discovered that refinishing furniture is a lot of fun.

Grandma Pratt had this old, beat up shelf thing on her back porch.  It had been painted brown and was in pretty bad shape due to the weather.  She said it was Jared’s that he had made in wood shop class in high school.  I painted it all up and had a great time.  I proudly showed the finished project to John and he said, “I made that!”  So, it was actually John’s creation!  So, it stays in the family.  I put a distressed finish on it.

And here is the king head board that Grandma gave us.  I thought it was a bit outdated.

I put a white finish on it first…

Then, I distressed it as well.

And, here is how my room looks now.  (I have a lamp for the “side table” but it is being used to hatch a robin egg right now.  Not that the egg will hatch, but Ivan had to try.)

I also did some sewing for Christmas.  I made these cool reversible aprons for some friends of mine.

And, here is what I’ve been up to most recently.

Yup.  I made these!  Elizabeth helped me choose the fabric and the bling.

Isn’t the trim so sweet?  I just love it.

And now, for my next project.  I am going to paint this table and probably the chairs, too.  The table is weathered badly.  The finish is very rough and snags everything.  It probably was left on someone’s porch as well.  Obviously, the leaf was not on the porch with it.

I love the cool lines of this table.  So, what color should I paint it?

And here is my sweet “hunk-o’ hunk-o’ burnin’ love” doing the dishes.  Not a project, but so fun to look at.  Thanks, hon for being such a wonderful help around the house!

So, what have YOU been up to?  I’d love to see some of your creations.  Post it on your blog and let me know!

Now, I’m off to CREATE dinner.  I wonder what I should fix tonight….  Always a dilemma for me….

Alright, some of you know that Avalon won’t nap unless she is being “worn” in my back pack.  This is ok most of the time, but not practical all of the time.  It is a challenge, albeit a mild one.  Well, there is an author who has written a new book about helping children take better naps.  I was going to purchase it, however, the author is giving a few copies away.  All I have to do is mention her book in my blog.  So, this is what I’m doing!  I have heard good reviews about her previous books and I could win them ALL and also win a set of them ALL to give away.  So, if I win, one of my “readers” wins.  Maybe you!!

Here is the book:

“The No-Cry Nap Solution: Guaranteed Gentle Ways to Solve All Your Naptime Problems” by Elizabeth Pantley

And, here are the books that WE could WIN!!!

The No-Cry Nap Solution  *NEW*

The No-Cry Sleep Solution

The No-Cry Sleep Solution for Toddlers & Preschoolers

The No-Cry Potty Training Solution

The No-Cry Discipline Solution

If you want to try and win on your own, send me an e-mail and I’ll forward you the e-mail with the information.

I’m EXCITED!!!

Is anyone else miffed about our groceries shrinking in size?  I first noticed this probably 6 years ago with Bounty paper towels.  About that time I would get approximately 90 sheets per roll.  (I’m sure at one time it was 100)  Anyhow, it then went down to 85, 75, etc.  Today I get 52 sheets per roll!!!  Is that insane??  What a waste of packaging.  Of my time in having to change the rolls so often.  Of, well…..  It just makes me mad!

I have since seen my pasta, pasta sauce, mayonnaise, and various other items shrink over the years.  And now, it has happened to my tuna.  I was at Wal-mart last week and I went to buy some tuna and I thought, boy, these cans sure look different.  They look shorter!  I checked the size and sure enough, they only held 5 oz.  Now, I was pretty sure that tuna normally comes in 6 oz cans.  However, every single can on the shelf–every single brand–was only 5 oz.  I came home and compared my new can with my old can and I was RIGHT!!  SHRUNK AGAIN!!!!!  Hense, the picture….  I meant to check Macey’s and see if they had converted all their cans to 5 oz when I was there and I forgot.  Has anyone else noticed the smaller tuna can?

I used to call the companies (Like Bounty and Best Foods) and complain, but it did no good.  They just give me some spiel about how the manufacturer doesn’t set the price and due to yada yada yada, the only way they can continue to make a fortune is by shorting us stupid Americans who won’t really notice a few ounces or sheets.

I’m noticing.

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The bishop in our last ward, Bishop Bangerter, challenged us to read the Book of Mormon as a family during this year.  He also challenged us to memorize Mosiah 5:15:

“Therefore, I would that ye should be steadfast and immovable, always abounding in good works, that Christ, the Lord God Omnipotent, may seal you his, that you may be brought to heaven, that ye may have everlasting salvation and eternal life, through the wisdom, and power, and justice, and mercy of him who created all things, in heaven and in earth, who is God above all. Amen.”

We accomplished our goal by reading 2 pages every day.  Now, we are reading it again!  While most of our reading sessions were a challenge with young children, our lives are blessed and we have th spirit of Christ more present in our home.  I am learning to love this book more and more every day.

Well, we have had a bout with the stomach flu here.  It all started yesterday afternoon when Ivan said his stomach was not feeling well.  He said it felt like a ball with spikes all over it was inside his stomach.  And, I learned a few things:

1.  If your child says his tummy hurts, don’t feed him milk and blueberries.

2.  If your child says his tummy hurts, but that he’s not going to throw up, don’t believe him.  Always prepare the barf bowl.  (See below.)

I did not do this and so I spent the next half an hour cleaning up bright red and blue chunks off their bed and bedroom floor.  Not fun.  When I got done I wasn’t feeling so good.  Now, I am usually not a wuss when it comes to throw up, but my tummy was beginning to feel a bit queasy.

About twenty minutes later Reed said he wasn’t feeling good and so he laid down on the floor with a blanket and pillow (just like big brother, Ivan, was doing).   I quickly prepared the barf bowl and he began using it.  Reed threw up all night.  I lost count after about seven/eight times.  Ivan threw up twice.  I moaned and groaned all night and finally mine came out the other end early in the morning.  (TMI??)  Calvin tossed his cookies around 3am.  John and Avalon have so far escaped, though Avalon has had some strange diapers. Yesterday evening I would clean up one child’s mess, go and lay down, and have to get up five minutes later to clean another one.  I was very glad when John came home and relieved me so that I could crash myself.  Aren’t husbands great??

Well, I’d like to share something that has been a saving grace for me and my family.  My good friend, Krystal C. in Oregon taught me how to prepare the barf bowl.  I have praised her name ever since.  Now, I am passing this valuable information to YOU so that you can praise MY name forever. 

First, you take a clean large bowl.

 Then, you line it with a plastic grocery bag (recycling is great!)  Make doubly sure that there are no holes in the bag.  (They often have holes.  Which is fine for groceries, but not for tossed cookies.)

Then, you fold up a paper towel and place it in the bottom of the bowl.  This helps the cookies not to splash.

 After the deed has been done, you simply tie the straps together and deposit the bag in your nearest trash receptacle.  No cleaning out nasty fluids!!  Quickly prepare a new bag and towel and place it close to your patient.  This has saved my day many time.  It works especially well on long car trips from Utah to Oregon when driver and child are taking turns tossing their cookies.  Ask for bags and towels at gas stations.  Most people are willing to oblige.

Well, we are feeling better, though a little puny.  Luckily no one is very hungry, so I can rest and not have to prepare a big meal.  May you stay healthy and happy.

This morning I went to an Enrichment Activity at Rosemarie Taylor’s garden.  She is a beautiful sister in my ward with a beautiful garden.  It was fascinating listening to her talk about many of the wonderful herbs and their uses.  At the end we got to go around and pick some of her flowers and herbs and make a tussie mussie.  I have echinacea, yarrow, mint, lavender, horehound, and many other herbs in my little bouquet. It inspired me to have an herbal garden one day.  I also went around Grandma’s house here and made a little bouquet for my kitchen table.  Rosemarie says that in the fall I can come and get some starts of some of the herbs.  I think I will take her up on that.

Here is a poem that she wrote about these little boquets:

I’m a little “Tussie Mussie,”
A simple small bouquet,
Just comin’ by to wish you,
A VERY HAPPY DAY!Just gently hang me upside down,
From a nail or from a hook,
I’ll again say: “Have a happy day,”
Each time you take a look.

Then in two weeks a dried bouquet,
Just plop me in a vase,

I’m good to brighten up a room,
And add a smile to your face.

For all your loving service,
As you rush to meet your goal,
Stop and smell the flowers,
It’s fragrance to the soul.

Well, I’ve just added a bunch of pages.  I guess I had a lot to say.  For those who have several friends who blog and have a hard time keeping up with everyone’s blogs, there is a cool thing called “Google Reader” that helps you stay up to date.  Those of you who have G-mail can use it to add subscriptions of your blogging friends.  You just open your G-mail account and at the top of the screen there is this little link that says “Reader”.  When that opens, you go down and on the left side you will see “Add Subscription”.  Click on that and then add as many blogs as you want to keep updated on.

If you don’t have G-mail, there is another site called Bloglines that does the same thing.  I don’t know exactly how it works, but it uses RSS feeds and you can keep up on my blog and others.

As my sis-in-law, Jen, says, “It saves SO much time! Unless you add too many blogs that is ”

Have a wonderful day!