homemade picture valentines.

 i had so much fun making these... they were fast and easy!
happy valentine's day!!

Thursdays at McDonald's.

we have a new family tradition.
my husband teaches a class on Tuesday and Thursday morning and so i drop the kids off at school around 8am and then my little girls and i head to the farm.
(old McDonald's farm)
sometimes we kidnap a friend to take with us.

it's a long drive to the farm with a slide- so we sing Old McDonald and we listen to Scripture Scouts!
(we LOVE scriptures scouts!)
Leah always asks if i took a short cut this time.

McDonald's on Thursday morning is dreamy.
my favorite part is when we first get there.
the main lobby is filled with darling old men.
there are some couples, but mostly men.
i jokingly asked if this was the "grumpy old men's club"?
they said, "Well young lady, take off that first word and you've got it just about right."

i love these men.
they are so cute with my little girls.
they always tell me i need some boys.
when i tell them i have seven children they hoot and say "good for you, we just don't see big families these days."
i love their hard working hands and their eyes wrinkled into permanent smiles.

we usually have play land all to ourselves.
it is magical.

you know how it says parents can climb too?
well, i always do.
following my adventurous baby.
it's good exercise (for them and me.)

lily is very timid.
she always begins afraid and barely crawling up the stairs.
she gets scared on the net tubes and has a hard time climbing the big drop steps.
by the end of our morning adventure she is yelling-- "See mom, i can stand up the whole way!"
every Thursday is a victory day for lily!

the girls have a club in the purple part.
(they always beg me to let them eat in there... but the sign says "no food".)
they take their socks off (gasp) and climb UP the slides (gasp).

and, we talk to our friend Alisha who cleans "mr play structure" while we play.
she is great at daring rescues of children stuck on a stair.
she is great at knocking when she is under them causing a tornado of dancing and laughing.
she loves to sing Selina Gomez songs while she cleans that make me smile.
i love that girl.
McDonald's is great for hiring her!

we usually order 99 cent sausage mcmuffins
and water with a straw.

sister is just learning to drink from a straw.
(see those two cute teeth?  two teeth is my FAVORITE age ever!)

and, on the way home we have to get ice cream.
even though it's still morning.
because, well, it's McDonald's.
(they will give the kids FREE baby comes- i'm definitely doing that next time.)

and, sometimes i grab a treat to go, and drop it off at a school on my way home.
just as a little surprise for another one of my kids that might need a special "i'm thinking about you" today.

last week anna was sad because ellie's teacher always gives them parties and special rewards.
her teacher is more strict.
she said, "i see her class in the hallway, they are loud and bad.  And he always gives them rewards.  We are good and our teacher is always yelling at us.  And, ellie gets a whole bag of M&M's just because she knows what 40 x 3 is.  It's not fair."
that next Thursday i picked up a bag of M&Ms and dropped them off in anna's classroom with a little note "you're so blessed to have a great teacher!  only eat this treat if you know what 40 x 3 is!"
being a mom is SO FUN!
we love McDonald's on Thursday morning!

and, actually, the professor and i have a date this morning...
BiMart is having a sale!!
i think i might take him to the farm with us afterwards.
hmmm.  McDonald's on Wednesday??  I wonder what it's like?!

have a great day!!

i MADE a circle skirt.

i always have ideas for things i want to make.
i've been trying to be better at just taking a couple hours and making something.
last week i made twirly skirts.
i used the instructions from MADE circle skirts- found here.

they were easy and my girls love them.

oh, did i say my girls?

well, i meant to make them for my girls-- BUT one came out a bit large.

i tried it on and i think it fits me.
honestly, tell me if it looks like i'm wearing my daughter's clothes.
i have a hard time taking pictures of things i've made.
all my craft pictures turn into family pictures.
i guess i like kids better than skirts.  :)

i'll definitely be making more of these skirts.

lily cries every night asking for her pink skirt...

i love that they are fun and twirly.

i love that all you need is wide elastic and fabric.

they are EASY.

i will say-- be sure to get enough fabric.

at first i bought one yard and it wasn't big enough for the whole circle.

i ended up with about a yard and a quarter (i think i just got a yard and a half to be sure.)

i also made this easy tiered skirt.

sorry- these pictures are after church, half dressed.
we had a Primary Pie Night at our house to thank all the teachers.
Probably more than 50 people.
the basement was wall to wall kids.  :)

while i was snapping pictures, the boys were finishing up the dishes from the party.

sort of.

back to skirts...
i had some old corduroy fabric and i copied a skirt that we bought from Crazy 8.

i just picked a length (8 inches).
The first layer was 8 inches tall by 45 inches wide (the width of the fabric).
The second layer was more fabric, a strip and a half.  So, 8 inches tall by about 60 inches wide.
The third layer was even more fabric, two strips sewed together.  So, 8 inches tall by 90 inches wide.
i don't have a serger so i just zigzagged the edges with a tight zigzag stitch (make the length smaller and width bigger).
and, when you gather each layer to attach them, leave the seam exposed.
can you see what i'm talking about?

it makes it look like a ruffle.
i just did a simple elastic waste, but a friend told me to sew right down the middle of the elastic to keep it from twisting around at the waste.
great idea.
easy.
cute.
modest.
my girls love these skirts (and so do i!).

i also picked up some clearance old navy shirts and i'm excited to fancy them up!
i'll show you those projects when i get to them.
AND i made a bunch of quilts for Christmas that i'm excited to share.
AND my girls sewed darling cherry apple dolls over Christmas break.
AND i have two really cute ideas of things to make with a whole class of kids.
more to come...

These skirts-- EASY and fun.

through my lens.

after writing a comment (or three) on my friend's blog about my efficient laundry system,
i found myself in my own small laundry room surrounded by a mountain of laundry.

should i admit that those are CLEAN clothes?
i had just put lily down for her nap and was supposed to be embarking on my own quiet, movie watching, laundry folding marathon..
didn't happen.
knowing HOW to do something doesn't always transfer to actually "gittin er done".

perhaps i should say, as i am "gittin er done", life happens.

and life is not laundry.

i thought i'd snap a picture to show her how my pile of clothes was just about bigger than my youngest child.

and then i just kept taking pictures...

of my fish making five year old.

and Daizie Pinky Pan-a-cake (who sometimes wishes she was back at the humane society).

how they all migrate to me when i walk into the room and make me feel like a superstar.

can i have an orange mom?

teething.

full of wonder...

ooh... where is that orange eating five year old?

and her trusty side-kick?

look mom!  i can cut by myself!

(my kids have skills... and safe knife choices.)

speaking of trusty side-kicks...

daizie looks at me with her puppy dog eyes before she runs from the baby monster...

she is so fast she is blurry in almost every picture i take without a flash inside my house.

that baby is a mover!

leah teaching daizie not to run from the baby...

what a sweet doggie.

my laundry isn't finished... and my windows are dirty.

i don't know why?

can i ride my bike?

in the oregon rain?

how i love being a mother.

there is joy seeing my life through a lens.

my laundry didn't get finished.

it never will.

laundry, it will be there tomorrow.

these babies won't.

how i will miss them...

life is good.