Our Newest Project

I just have to start out by saying that I am sooooo very excited about this project.  I almost get giddy whenever I think about it.

Have you ever heard of the knock-off wood blog?  If you haven't go there now, you will truly be amazed.  Anyway-I ran across this blog a while back, and while perusing it and drooling over some of the amazing stuff there, I ran across these plans, and got inspired. 

I have been thinking on bunk beds for a while now.  See, Buggy turns 6 soon, and I promised him ages ago that when he was 6 they could have bunk beds.  Now I have to make good on my promise.

I'm lucky that my husband is very handy when it comes to building stuff.  Also, that he likes to.  Also, that we have a garage full of tools just itching to be used. 

So, after a trip to Lowes last week, a whole bunch of wood and extras, a fully loaded car, and me giving up my spot in the garage, we had this:

After a couple of days with my husband spending his free time in the garage sanding, and cutting, and assembling, we had this:

A couple more days worth of free time, and we are already to this:

There is still a plenty big pile of wood left to go, but it is coming along nicely, and it is so much fun to build.  I've even been out there helping a lot.

We've modified the design a little, adding some bolts through the side rails to ease in assembly and dis-assembly.

Budget-wise, this project is fantastic for us.  Any of you who have looked at bunk beds know that they don't come cheap, not even a little bit.  We already own all of the tools we needed.  So far in wood and materials we have spent roughly $210.  We will still have to spend a little bit more for some more screws and paint, but my estimate is that we will come in under $250 for the whole project.  Remember this is $250 for the equivalent of this bed.  Not to shabby.

My goal is to be done in 3 more weeks (Beefy's birthday).  I will keep you updated on our progress between now and then though.

Cold Turkey

My household is getting a heavy dose of the "cold turkey" method this week.  First, Baby Sister has finally been weaned.  Mostly because (as I mentioned in the last post) I have had insane allergies mixed with a cold, and was to the point that I had to have medicine if I was to function at all. (Still haven't found anything that is working really well, but at least none of it is getting passed on now.)  I've been away for a few of the evenings this week, and haven't had to deal much with the wanting to nurse at bedtime.  When I have been here, she's seemed to be okay.  She has also been sleeping through the whole night for the last week.  Hopefully this will continue.

Our other "cold turkey" moment this week came with the boys.  The video game obsession was getting out of hand (ie: turning into an addiction), so I cut them off.  The wii and the DS are gone for at least a week, maybe longer.  We are moving onto day 3 now, and even though they ask for it more than I would like, I haven't yet given in.  I think they're better off too. They have actually been playing with their toys again, and going outside, and aside from the occasional whining that they "really want to play video games" things have been much happier around here.

So far so good.  Hopefully it will continue to stay that way.  Wish me luck.

Tutu Tutorial

I've had requests for instructions for the tutus.  This post is long overdue (I've been fighting killer allergies since I got back from vacation, so sorry if it doesn't make any sense).


To start out you will need tulle-from the fabric store-off the bolt. I've seen these made with the rolls of 6" tulle that you buy for like weddings and stuff, and that works too, but is more expensive.  Anyhoo-I usually use anywhere between 4 and 9 yards, depending on how long you want it to be, fullness etc.  I wish I could be more specific, but it's a science I haven't yet mastered.

(Just FYI - The finished tutus at the bottom are meant to fit a 5 or 6 year old, and use right around 7 yards each.)

First, the strips.  Decide how long you want the tutu to be, double it, and add one inch.  So, for example, if you want a 12 inch tutu, then you need to cut your strips 25 inches long.  The easiest way I've found to do this is to fold or bunch my by-the-yard tulle, and use my mat and rotary cutter to cut the lenth.

Leaving me with tulle that is cut to length, and then needs to be cut to width, which I do by taking my strips, turning them, folding/bunching like I did before, and then cutting the width.

As far as width goes, I've done anywhere from 3-6 inches but I like it best in the 5 to 5 1/2 inch range.

In the end you will have a whole bunch of tulle strips that measure (width)x(length).  (I hope this is making sense.)

For the waist, I measure the kiddo's waist (or a close estimate) then take off 3-4 inches (the elastic will stretch out a bit).  overlap it about 1/2 an inch, then hand stitch so that it holds together tightly. (I'm sure it could be machine sewn, but my machine freaks out when I try to sew elastic on it, thus, I hand stitch.)

Now the fun begins.  All of those strips of tulle you just made, get to be slip-knotted onto the elastic.

Keep going, adding strips in whatever pattern you desire.  Bunch the knots up as you go, until you reach the desired fullness.  Embellish with bows, or curly ribbons, etc. Then, you're done.

I really hope this was helpful and not too confusing (I'm new to the whole tutorial thing).  These are so much fun to make though, and very cute. 

Here are some of my recent finished products:

And, a variation, if you so desire:

This is an infant sized tutu.  It doesn't look very full in the picture , but in reality looked great on the baby I made it for.  Baby Sister's birthday tutu was made like this one too. 

The variation is that instead of making all of your strips go the same way, you tie one so it points down, and then the next one so it points straight up (I know it sounds weird, but trust me. Oh, and sorry I don't have a picture, but if you need one, just ask.)  When you are all done, just kind of fold the ones that are sticking up over and it will poof out nice and full.

Feel free to leave any questions in the comments and I will try to address them as best I can.

Two Down, a Mouthful To Go!

I have a feeling the tooth fairy is about to become pretty busy around our house.

(and yes, this really was the best picture he'd let me take.  Silly kid.)

Belated

I hope you all had a wonderful Easter.  We did!

(Thanks Marque for the cute bunny ears!)

What I Learned From General Conference

Pray. Be Obedient. Read the Scriptures. Commit to follow the prophet. Look straight ahead. Be Strong and Courageous. Remember who you are.  Strive for deep beauty. Endure through adversity. Reach your "Happily Ever After". Use the atonement, and rely on the Savior. Use the priesthood to bless your homes. Seek for the spirit to guide daily efforts for righteousness. What we have is from God, we are duty bound to honor it. Have Hope! The power of women is great and influential.  We must lead the women of the world, not be led by them. Look to your mother.  Be what you want your daughter to be. Lead your children to the house of the Lord;  Keep them on the path.  There is power in simple child-like faith.  Help WILL come when you pray. We must teach the gospel in our homes. Satan is trying to destroy the family. The Lord has placed great trust in the rising generation of the church. Scriptures are the standard in discerning truth from error. Serve others: it will lift them, and help you. Keep the commandments-it will bring blessings. Read and talk about the Book of Mormon with your children.  Bear your testimony to your children. Invite them to act. When you're in need of help - seek it. Remove yourself from temptations.Think of Christ.  Remember true love, the faces of those you love. Satan would have our families. Teach our children, prepare them. Be more forgiving and compassionate. LOVE. In trials - turn to God. Seek Christ. Be a worthy example to your children. Live like the Savior. HE LIVES! Love we have for our family helps us realize the love the Savior has for us. Family History - so we can be with our ancestors when we stand before God. Live as an example.  Be there. Prepare your children to fully participate in the gospel.  It is not enough to know-you must do. There is no greater good in all the world than motherhood! How we react to difficulties will determine our success. We are all children of God. Live righteously. Testimonies are gained through the stories of Jesus - do our children know them? Teach them. The Lord is mindful of us. Trust in the Lord. Look to the lighthouse of the Lord - His beacon light can rescue all.

Utah, the Good; and the Not-So-Good

We are back from our spring break vacation (did you miss me ; ) ) Okay so we've actually been back for a few days now, but we all came home sick, so it has taken me a while to get back to the level of functioning required to blog.  Sorry about that.  Anyway, now its time to get caught up on all the stuff I should have put up a week ago.  Enjoy!

Our trip to Utah, in a nutshell -

The Good:

• Spending lots of time with family.
• Getting to hang out and play games with old friends we haven't seen in years.
• A great, and much needed new haircut (pictures coming)
• My kids spending tons of time playing with cousins that they hardly ever see.
• No real schedule or structure to our days.
• Lunch with my best friend and her family.
• Shopping with my sister and my mom.
• Eating out at all the local places we've missed since moving to Washington.
• Krispy Kreme Doughnuts.
• Going to two movies in one week (we usually go to about 2 per year).
• Watching/listening to General Conference (more on that later).
• Taking the kiddo's to the zoo, and driving around downtown Salt Lake so they could see the temple and conference center. (The little one was asleep, so we didn't get out and walk around temple square-next time!)
• Buggy getting to have a sleepover with his new best buddy, cousin "A".
• New hand-me-downs for Sister, and some for Mommy too.
• Decorating Easter Eggs with cousins.
• Getting to enjoy being together as a family.  We needed it, and it was so awesome.

The Not-So-Good

• Snow.  Lots, and lots of Snow.  Yuck.
• That drive is really Long!
• Listening to the boys fight over DS games in the back seat.
• Everyone coming home with colds.
• Me getting hives from the dry, cold weather, and my mom's fabric softener.
• Baby Sister not going to sleep until 3:45 a.m. one night.
• Beefy having an accident.  The first one in a long time, but still - never cool.
• Embarrassingly having to explain to any relatives with dogs about my kids' mortal fears of all things canine, and their tendencies to be slightly OCD about it. 

Overall though, the good outweighed the bad, and when it came time to go home, we were a little disappointed to leave.  To me, that is the mark of a good vacation.