Time is Flying By

Well, it’s almost moving day. Time sure is flying. I’m not sure if I’ll get a chance to post tomorrow before we take down the computer.

We’re almost done packing. It feels like as we pack we make a big mess out of the stuff that remains. YUCK! And I think I’m all done with the laundry. We’ll just have to move a few dirty clothes and towels and sheets. And that is hard for me to do! And with all of our friends taking care of us we haven’t had to cook since Saturday. So it was no problem packing the kitchen yesterday. We’ll probably have to buy lunch and dinner tomorrow but that’s OK.

In fact, I think we are packed enough that I can go with Rhonda to Bend tomorrow. I guess it’s our last outing. I’ll enjoy myself because once I get home I’ve got lots of stuff to do. Like cancel the rest of the utilities. Blah. At least I have a new episode of So You Think You Can Dance to look forward to. That will be my reward.

Blessing

It was our last Sunday here and we decided to bless Sophie before we moved. Here is Sophie in her blessing dress. (Yes, I had flash issues so her face is dark.) I think she looked very cute. This blessing dress is one that my mom made many years ago. I believe that she made it for my niece Jamie when she was blessed. So it’s more than 20 years old. Sophie is also wearing a cute pink and white bracelet that Joe’s mom gave her. And look at this face…

She was hungry and I was taking pictures. Here are a few more pictures of Sophie, Sai, and Jay.

She really likes her bouncy seat. She sleeps in it better than in the bassinet.
 

Sophie and Sai. Can you see how much he loves her?

Look how cheesy they are? I think they are some very cute kids.

Jay and Sophie.

We had an anniversary to celebrate this past week. You can read about it here.

Not much else is happening around here. Just packing and tying up loose ends. There’s a lot to do still, but it is the essentials that we have left: kitchen, bathroom, clothes, bedrooms, etc. I’m starting on the kitchen tomorrow. We may end up eating out for a few days!

While Mom’s Away…

…Jay will play.

I was at Rhonda’s house for our last sewing day and Jay and Sophie stayed home with Joe. Joe was busy–probably taking care of Sophie–and Jay found a red marker. They tried washing it off but… I thought we only had washable markers!

Jay has been into the markers lately. He found a Sharpie that Joe and I were using to write on boxes as we pack. He colored a little on the wall and a lot on the bookshelf.

Oh, and, I didn’t get a lot of sewing done. I had plans to sew some PJ bottoms for the boys. I even cut them out last night so that part wouldn’t consume my time. But what can I say. We are girls. We talked a lot and cried a lot.

I’m really going to miss my friends here in Oregon. Maybe I can talk them into coming to visit me. I haven’t had friends like Rhonda and April before in my adult life. That makes moving hard.

Fabric…

…it multiplies like bunnies.

When we moved to Oregon all of my sewing supplies and fabric fit into one large tote (large tote pictured in photos below). In the nearly three years we have lived in Oregon my fabric alone multiplied. I had all fabric and sewing supplies, not including my machine, in 9 totes and two sets of plastic drawers. Oh My. As we’ve been packing Joe said that it’s not fair to expect the boys to downsize their toys if we don’t downsize ours as well. So I spent yesterday going through all my sewing stuff.  Here is a photo of the mess mid reorganization.

I had a BIG mess all over the floor. All of my fat quarters were previously filling two totes. I got them to fit into one slightly larger tote. Then all my other miscellaneous fabrics fit into another slightly larger tote and the big tote. All of my supplies, not including cutting mat and rulers, fit into another larger tote. Whew! I had a lot of scraps that I had saved thinking that one day I might have use for them. But I got rid of a lot. There’s a big pile heading to the thrift store. I’m not worried about not having enough of something. I’ll be living in the land of Mom and sisters who sew and more fabric stores than in this small town.

While down sizing I found some fabric in my stash that I’m going to use to make summer PJs for Sai. If I’m behind on the laundry he only has flannel PJs which are just way too hot! So I’ve got to get them cut out and then I’ll sew them up on Wednesday–my last Sewing with Rhonda day .

And can I just say that it’s HOT?! It’s 93 here right now. Ugh. I have a sister living in Vegas and it’s only 91 there. The Northwest is hotter than Vegas. That just doesn’t seem right! Luckily Sophie has some cute hot weather clothes thanks to my niece Tiffany–Thanks again Tiff!!

Finally Warm

The weather is finally warm. Almost HOT. Well, 81 is hot. Plus Joe made cookies so the house is a little bit warm. Sophie sacked out on my lap while I attended to blog business. Look at this…

She is just stretched out and snoozing away. And doesn’t she look pretty cute? She’s wearing the outfit my friend Mindy sent her. Awww… She’s such a little lady. (And she toots while I type that, LOL!)

I bought plane tickets for Jay, Sophie and me. We’ll be flying into SLC on the 29th. (And Nann has already volunteered to pick us up.) It’s going to be an interesting adventure for me. It’s not a direct flight–we have an hour and 20 minute layover in Portland. It’s going to be interesting to go running off to the gate and hit the potty and change diapers in that time. Oh, the adventures. And here’s a question… do I need any sort of ID for Jay and Sophie to get on the plane? I was going to try looking that up but haven’t gotten around to it. I just haven’t travelled on a plane with a child since Sai was a baby.

And Jay has an ear infection. We took him to the doctor today. I hope it gets all cleared up before we fly to Utah! He goes back on the 27th for the doctor to check his ears and I also go to the doctor that day. Oh yay. Jay is already feeling much better. He’s had one dose of antibiotic and Motrin and he’s going strong. The doctor also gave him some nighttime cough medicine to help him not cough and sleep better.

Out on a Limb (edited)

I’m going out on a limb for this post. (I had to look up that phrase to make sure I was using it correctly. And I think I am.) I think my family and Joe’s family will get why this is a risky post more than any one else considering all the phone calls going back and forth this past week.

I’ll start by saying, WOW, what a year we have. I’m not meaning a year as in 2008, I mean a year as in since April 2007. Long time readers may remember what was happening in our lives a year ago. If you haven’t been a long time reader, here is the condensed version:

April 24, 2007 – My husband Joe has a heart attack. At the ripe old age of 31.

May 23, 2007 – Joe has double bypass surgery. Joe’s out of work for 10 weeks–4 weeks after the heart attack and 6 weeks after the surgery. About a week before he was set to go back to work he got laid off. After about two weeks of job searching he found a job.

November 30, 2207 – Joe gets laid off, again. Before Christmas. We were feeling pretty poor anyway and then this happened. Right before Christmas he found a job but at a significant pay cut.

March 17, 2008 – Joe gets laid off yet again! This housing market is killer. People aren’t building houses so plumbers like my husband are out of work. Our little town has been hit hard by this. The lumber mills keep laying off people and so many people are out of work. Joe’s been applying every where but no one is hiring.

April 21, 2008 – Sophie joins our family. She wasn’t planned but we sure can’t imagine our lives without our Princess Sophie. (Had to add this since I forgot to the first time around.)

May 14, 2008 – It’s official, I think (see, going out on a limb here). We are moving back to Utah.

If we had had just the health crisis, or just one of the lay offs I think we would be OK. But really, who has enough savings to survive this much time off work? So we are moving back to Utah. We’ll be staying with my sister Tracy until we can get jobs and get back on our feet. (Thanks again, Tracy!) It will be nice to have family around to help us out. Plus, the kids will love being around their grandpas, grandmas, aunts, uncles, and cousins.

I’ve already applied for my old job at my old company. If I were lucky enough to get the job back then Joe would be a stay home dad and go to school at night. But we’re not really sure if that is going to happen. So many things can change.

But for now we are working on packing up (boy does the house look funny!). We’ll be moving at the end of the month. It’s a bittersweet move for me. I’ll be happy to be back around our families again. But I’m really going to miss the friends that I have made here. Especially my friend Rhonda. When I told her yesterday we both had the waterworks going. And I’m bummed that I didn’t take the time last week to meet up with Irene again while she was here in Central Oregon.

So that’s the big news.

I’m off to look at flights. We are considering flying me and Sophie and Jay to Utah so the two little ones won’t have to endure two days of driving. Joe’s dad is flying up a few days before the move to help us pack up the Uhaul and drive. So we may just have Joe and his dad tow the truck as well and take Sai with them. We’ll see.

Seeing Red???

A recurring topic of conversation in this house is about Sophie’s hair. Is it brown? Is it red? I’m thinking it is red like mine. What do you think? It’s almost the only way that she looks like me. Her eyes are just like Sai’s which are just like Joe’s dad’s. Her nose is like Jay’s which is a lot like Joe’s. Her ears stick out like Joe’s sister’s. Joe is worried about whether or not she’ll be cute. Of course she’ll be cute!

Sophie sure has made a huge impact on our lives. We half-teasingly say she is a drama queen already and that she’s a diva. Her nickname is Princess Sophie, and not only because she’s cute! But I wouldn’t want it any other way. She is a very precious part of our family.

Cold

Something has happened to me. I’m always cold now. Brrrr. And Joe isn’t. He opens the windows and doors to let in the fresh cold air. And I go and shut them part way back up. I’m sitting her in socks and a sweater over my normal clothes cuz I’m freezing! He says “Don’t turn into your mom.” Because my mom is always cold. So I’m thinking that I am turning into my mom.  And if I feel cold I think that everyone else is too. So Sophie is bundled up in blankets too.

I’m so glad Sophie’s cord came off so I can give her real baths. The first one I gave her she loved. I gave her one this morning and she cried through the whole thing! The water was perfect temp and I was being quick but she kept arching her back trying to get out of the water. And when she’s squirmy like that it is doubly hard to get her clean. She was so mad and screaming at one point but it was because she was pulling her own hair.

I was going to leave you with a sweet picture of Sophie dressed up for church yesterday. However, Flickr is not cooperating with me today.

Emotional

I’ve been a bit emotional today. I’m always emotional on days when visiting family leaves. And some other decisions that Joe and I have been needing to make were made today. And I cried about those, too.

So when Sai came home with this Mother’s Day gift, which he couldn’t wait till Sunday to give me, I cried. I find it so sweet and precious! The outside says “I Loves My Mom”. I really love the inside because he drew a picture of him and me and he wrote “I Love my mom because I love hr so vere much.” Awwww… Pull out the tissues.

Sophie’s cord finally fell off today. I was changing her diaper and saw this gross looking thing in her diaper. Then I realized it was her cord. YAY!! No more sponge baths!

And we’ve got a busy night tonight with Sai’s school carnival. It should be fun!

I Love Mail

Earlier this week Valori Wells had a fabric give away on her site. I was on of 18 lucky people to win 8 wonderful fat quarters. The fat quarters are from her Olive Rose line.

I love them! I want to make something fabulous out of them. For now I’m thinking maybe I’ll make bumpers and crib stuff for Sophie. I don’t have a crib yet so I’ve got a few months to get cracking on it. I really like Valori’s designs. In fact the fabrics that are the background for my header are some of Valori’s work.

Can I just say I’m soooooo happy that Grey’s Anatomy is back on? Well, I am. I noticed two things this last episode. 1-Dr. Hahn’s cap that she wears in surgery is made out of the same fabric that is on the back of the quilt I won from Old Red Barn Co. (The quilt is in the background of the picture of Jay which you can see if you scroll down. The fabric is that blue and brown dot.) I keep thinking that maybe they have some crafty person make the custom caps. 2-Izzy was eating my favorite brand of potato chips which I never knew existed until we moved to the North West–Tim’s. I LOVE the sea salt & vinegar flavored chips. They also have wasabi flavored. The chips are thick and crunchy and delicious!

And any post just wouldn’t be complete without pictures of my kids. Sai didn’t want pictures taken today so it’s just Jay and Sophie. Sophie made her debut at church today. I dressed her in a cute pink dress, tights, and shoes from Aunt Jenny. After I got her dressed this morning the boys said that she looks like a princess. And I’m so proud of Jay. He has had to grow up a lot this past month. He’s been such a big boy and finally goes to nursery at church all by himself for the whole time. YAY! He lets Sai drop him off as Sai makes his way to Primary and I’m still in the chapel picking up coloring books and crayons. I check on him as I make my way to Primary and I’m so proud that my little man is being so brave and having fun in nursery.

Princess Sophie

 

Jay kissing Sophie. She really does like him.

 

Little Man Jay.

 

Daddy’s Girl
 

And just yesterday I realized that tomorrow is Cinco de Mayo. I’m trying what to make for our feast. It’s a day we use as an excuse to make yummy Mexican food and eat and eat. It helps that my husband and kids are all part “Amigo”, as Sai calls it, so we have more of an excuse to eat it! So the dillema is: carne asada or tamales? Joe’s sister Felicia will be here and I think she will want tamales so I’m guessing that’s what I’ll be making.