Lego Land

We've had the flu. Since the last week of December. 

Weird, right? It didn't hit us all at once, and it didn't get any of us really bad, but it has been here for a month. Stomach first, then just as we were all healed it hit us again, this time in our respiratory parts. 

Needless to say, we've been home. For a month. It's a very good thing that we are all introverted home bodies, or there might have been a war. But, despite being home bodies, being home has been somewhat taxing on the kids because either I've been sick, or a baby has been sick, and either of those things means that the older kids don't get much Mom time. 

 Which means their imaginations have been going wild!
The forts and dress ups and princess-doll-land and Lego play has been epic, to name just a few.

Papa and Lala made this lego table for the kids for Christmas last year (2012), and with it we also inherited all the legos from Caleb's childhood.

 This is Super Ellie. She was invented a year ago, and they are still hard at work creating a world for her.

Me: "What's this guy's name?"
Jonah: "John. Just John. But sometimes we call him Taylor."

Ok.

 This is Super Ellie's little sister, and she's the one that Millie usually gets to play with. They're not sure what her name is. Sister of Super Ellie, I guess.

 This is prototype number 67 of Super Ellie's castle. It gets rebuilt at least once a week, and varies greatly every time.

Jonah added a pasture onto John's house this time around, and even remembered to feed the horses. How thoughtful!

Clairey built a house for her lego girl, who she named Clairey. Complete with a trampoline in the living room, "Jus because she wanned one."

And this is her!

 And this is her maker. Clairey and Clairey are quite the pair.

This is John/Taylor's new airplane! 

 This is Jonah's attempt at crossing his eyes. He's determined, but not quite there yet. Keep it up, little buddy! This is a life skill!

 This is John/Taylor's house. It's basically a weaponry with an attached pasture. What more could he need?

This is Super Ellie enjoying a nice evening with her Parrot. Emmy says these are the Parrot's food bottles. Super Ellie usually has a ponytail, but she just got home from flying.

 This is Clairey's blue hat collection. And one brown one, "because it's so girly!"
Indiana's Jones' hat just became girly. Sorry, man.

 At any rate, this table has been the source of imaginative play for too many hours to count. I love sitting at the table with them and fiddling around and listening to them. Their brains are just a whirrin'!

We've gotten into some interesting conversations, also. Super Ellie was getting a little bossy one time, and feeling like the coolest things should all belong to her and everyone in the kingdom should do exactly what she said or else they got thrown in the dungeon. So we talked about Dictatorship. And Super Ellie cooled off.

One time they built a store where the lego people could buy new shirts, pants, hats, or even new heads! You know, the typical stuff. One time they built a pool complete with three levels of diving boards, but no one in the land was brave enough for the high dive. It was way too tall!

When we were studying ancient Egypt, we built a lego pyramid! Complete with coffin, complete with mummy. The pyramid also had treasure, toys, books, and a horse, because the Egyptians believed that the Mummy would need these things for their journey to the afterworld. Look it up!

Sometimes I get in this mood where I just want to pack up all the toys in this house and ship them somewhere very far away. And when in the mood, I do usually end up disposing of a box or two. But never, in those fits of toy-excess-mania, do I include Legos. They're cute and they really hurt to step on. And I love them.

Thanks, Papa and Lala!

On my nightstand

I think that much can be learned about a person by discovering what is kept on their nightstand, don't you agree? In most cases I would assume there are books, and such is the case at my house. This whole stack is usually strategically placed all around my house, but I've been flu-ish this week, so these books all eventually made their way to my bedside.

Thomas Jefferson Education  Oliver Van Demille
      This is one of my very favorite books for guiding my home schooling. He bases education on studying classics; literature, music, art, etc.

Journal  Jayne Kepsel
      This one's gonna be a best seller. Guaranteed.
      Or not.

Mansfield Park  Jane Austen
     I just finished this one. Again. Then I made the tragic mistake of watching the movie (the 1999 one)

 because I was sick in bed and netflix was a source of distraction from my ills. Don't watch it! They butchered Jane's masterpiece and I had much disturbance of mind for the rest of the day. In fact, I laid awake last night and composed a rather lengthy blog post in my head, all dedicated to the ills of this film. But, I will spare you. Just know that I am still slightly fuming.

Reflexology Barbara and Kevin Kunz
    Caleb likes to give me foot rubs, and I fully support his habits.

Hands Free Mama  Rachel Macy Stafford
    This book was just released this month, and I'm adoring it. She writes about the effects of technology taking over our lives and the damage it can do to our relationships. She's totally realistic, as in Hi, It's the 21st Century, but she gives a lot of tips for managing and finding balance. I'm liking it.

The Book of Mormon another testament of Jesus Christ 

     If ever there was a classic, this one is it. I spend time with it daily, and I'm the better for it. If you haven't read it, I heartily recommend!

Stack of Art Kepsel Kids.
    This isn't a book. It's an actual stack of art, made by them, and left for me to find on my pillow. They leave a few each week, and the stack is wrinkly and colorful and slightly sticky and I love it.

When the new baby comes, I'm moving out Martha Alexander
    This is a picture book, and it's hilarious. It's a great book to read to kids before a new sibling arrives. (Nope, this isn't a preggers announcement. I'll keep you posted on that one).

Pierre. A cautionary tale in five chapters and a prolougue Maurice Sendak
     Just in case Where the Wild Things Are and In the Night Kitchen didn't convince you that Maurice Sendak is one of the literary geniuses of our time, this one will. Love it.

 East of Eden  John Steinbeck
       First time read, and I just started it. I'm expecting a Steinbeck. Have you read this?

Modern Essentials

      This is the doTerra Essential Oil bible, and I need it. Partly because I don't always know what to do with each different oil, and partly because it makes me feel all hippy and healthy. 

That's it! What's in your pile?

This one goes out to all the Husbands of Stay At Home Moms

Hey Husbands, listen up. Because guess what? You Rock.

I'm going to direct my thoughts towards Caleb today, but all of you SAHM's can go ahead and substitute your husband's name, if you so choose.

Caleb, you and I have chosen our path. We decided even before we were married that I would stay home with the babies and you would work to provide for us. We decided it even before we really knew what it meant or what it would be like. We didn't know how difficult or how wonderful it would be, we just knew it was right for us.

We still don't know everything, but we certainly know a lot more than we did.

SAHM's are an interesting group of people, one that is often written about and praised and glorified. And rightly so! We work hard. Really hard. There are human bodily fluids to deal with on an hourly basis, there is nearly constant food prep, endless chauffeuring, and mountains of laundry to summit. SAHM's are amazing, period. Choosing to live this sort of life is good proof of that.

But what about the other half? The other one who also made this SAHM decision? The one you couldn't do it without? Where is his praise?

My work is hard, we've already more than established that. But mine comes with rewards that far surpass the sacrifice. Along with the bodily fluids and the summitings, I get to read to them and feel them snuggle their warm little bodies into mine. I get to feel and know, because I can see it, that I am their safe place. Their comfort. While Caleb, the one who is providing this warm home and couches and books and blankies and food, the one who is making my comforting safety possible... he has to leave.

He works just as hard as I do, there is no doubt in my mind about that. Our work cannot be compared, and it drives me crazy when the world tries to do that. We both work really hard, can that please be enough? We are yoked together, pulling on the same family plow. But my work is seen by the family, while his isn't. Sure, the kids and I talk about it. Often! Dad is gone because he is making money to buy all that we need. They've been to his work, they know what he's doing. But do they?

And does he know? Caleb, do you know? In this great work we are doing together, I am physically in the thick of it all day. I see it. I feel it and smell it and hold it. All day. Caleb, you only get a few precious hours each day. Is it enough for you to know? Do you know that your work is eternally necessary? Do you know that your sacrifice is noted?

Another thing. My work has one main focus, but the daily work changes. Yes, the regular necessities are the same, but we do other things, too. We visit cousins, we go to the zoo, we spend hours at the library, we work in the garden, we ice skate, we read books, we sew, we paint. We clean up a lot of messes. But we sure have fun making the messes!
Caleb's work has one goal also, but his daily work stays relatively the same. The people he works with are not his cute little family, although he has some really wonderful friends and works with great people. He doesn't have to clean up bodily fluids, but he doesn't get to hear Jonah say, "Claire, you're my best friend."

When the praising of stay at home Mom's is being done, when she is standing on her pedestal and feeling the love and crying at feeling some recognition, the Father should be standing right up there next to her, receiving the praise equally with her. Caleb, I couldn't do my great work without your great work.

And how come I get a title, but he doesn't? Shouldn't there be a special phrase to describe the husband of a stay at home Mom? They are a social group, just like we are. They shoulder the financial providing alone, and that is something that should be socially recognized at least as much as we are. Sure, once they get a title they'll be open to the mocking and belittling that we sometimes receive from this confused world, but at least they'll be recognized.
"Single income family" doesn't really do it justice, right?
"Sole Provider" doesn't do it for me.

"Defender of Family Utopia" has a nice ring to it.

:)

Thank You, Caleb. From the deepest depths of my depth, every minute of every day, Thank You.

A few projects

Alrighty! Back to work!

A few months ago, I talked Lala into helping me fix up my shiny gold ceiling fan. 

It was in great working order and I liked having it there in the dining room, it just looked a little dated and it was missing one of the glass light bulb cover things (I'm sure they have a name). 

Lala had fixed up her fans at her house, so she was the perfect mentor. 

Plus she knows her way around an electrical box. I tell you, this lady comes in handy.

I handed Jonah the camera and asked him to document.

"Smile, Lala!"

"Smile, Clairey!"

"Lala! Smile again! Hahahahah!"

There are many benefits to having junior photographers. They get photos that no one else would:)

Amelia and I set out to clean the thing, which was no menial task. There were a few years of grime on this baby. But we were relentless! We succeeded in the end!

And now we're going to imagine me hanging the fan from a ladder in the front yard and spending the next three days and four cans of spray paint to get the job done. This textured paint doesn't cover super well, plus there were so many angles it just took a lot of paint!

I know I took real photos, I just can't find them. My photo folder is a pit of despair. 

After scrubbing the thing, painting all the metal parts, and buying new glass lightbulb cover things (?) she was ready to be hung back on the ceiling. So Caleb and I hung her. It, I mean. 

The color reminds of of Rolo's. Chocolate and caramel, right? And who doesn't want to be reminded of that every time they enter their dining room?
Do you see my smudge? I stuck my thumb in it before it was completely dry. *sigh* Perfection is so elusive.

The blades are still a 90's color, but we deal.

Ahhh... no more gold. Although I have a sneaky suspicion that gold finish will be all the rage within the next five years. Go ahead and quote me on that.

So, that was one project. Another one I want to show you was SO fun to do, partly because it was crafty and artsy and something I had never done before. 

You know those sunburst mirrors that are all the rage in home decor and all over pinterest these days? 

Well. I wanted to make one using driftwood, because I love driftwood. Unfortunately, Utah has a low driftwood supply. Fortunately, we took a family vacay to California! 

I plopped myself down on this driftwood beach and began sifting through the piles and sticking my favorites into my bag. No worries, I made sure it was legal first. 

After we returned to the frozen mountain tops, I went in search of something flat and circular to glue my sticks to. 

A wooden needle point form thing (I'm sure it has a real name, too) turned out to be just the thing! It was only $1.09 at JoAnn's, so I went for it.  I probably spent more than that in hot glue sticks. This project took a lot of hot glue!

 This nasty carpet in my art room is awesome. It's just a remnant laid down on the plywood. I love it because I can get paint, glue, glitter, and all sorts of other crafty tidbits all over it with no fear of doing damage. That's my kind of floor covering. I arranged the sticks in a few different ways before settling on this, then started coating on the glue. Once that dried, I used liquid nails to attach the mirror. I put a few heavy books on top of it, then left it alone for 24 hours.

Then.... Tada!

The mirror is 18", so the whole thing is over 2 feet wide. I hung it in my bedroom, and I love it! It looks brown in this photo, but it's more of a gray color. Very chic and oh so coastal. Because coastal decor is all the rage in the land locked desert of Utah. 

?

Our days were merry and bright

So, as I was saying before I was so blissfully interrupted by that Harry Potter rant; Christmas!

They donned their Jammies and headed up to bed.
And Caleb and I donned our Elf outfits and finished wrapping presents! Part of that statement was true.
Bright and early the next morning.....  actually, come to think of it, it was dark. And it wasn't terribly early, either! 6:45! 
Dark and not so early the next morning...

Emmy came in to tell us Merry Christmas, and also that Jonah was already downstairs looking through his stocking.

So we rallied the troops and joined him!

The sun rose shortly afterwards, and the joyous unwrapping mayhem continued.

I know that Caleb's parents felt like they were imposing somewhat by staying the night, and I wish I had the right words to seal in their minds for all of eternity that we LOVED having them there! Christmas tradition, for me, is all about family, being together, and loving each other. That's exactly what we had that morning.

We didn't go overboard this year, as we may have done in years past. The gifts were carefully thought out and important to each one of the kids. Not a lot of fluffy filler presents.

Jonah, upon opening his new Bob Books, wanted to begin reading immediately! So we did! We made it halfway through the first one before he remembered that he had other gifts to open.

The kids all wanted to get their Daddy peppermint patties, because they know he loves them. So I bought a Costco case of them and divvied them up. Emmy had the idea of wrapping them in "tricky" boxes to fool him, which is something they're always trying to do. So he received his treats in boxes of oatmeal, wheat thins, graham crackers, and an egg carton. Silly kids:)

Claire had a special gift this year!

Her own Rag Doll. She's been really loving listening to Laura's adventures with her rag doll, so this was a fun one for her. It took me almost four months when I made Emmy's doll, all those years ago. In a stroke of brilliance, as I made Emmy's doll I also jotted down a pattern and stuck it in my sewing box! So when it was time to make Claire's doll, it only took two weeks! Brilliant, I tell you.
The first thing she said when she took her out of the box was "It's a KATIE doll!"

After very little ado, Claire named her doll Mary.

This one was Emmy's special present, and it was one that made me feel like I was 8 years old again.

(Isn't her Katie hat adorable?)

Kirsten!
Emmy has recently been introduced to the American Girl Dolls, as many of her friends have them now. I never imagined being able to get one for her, but this one came up for sale right here in town for an incredible price. She's the doll I always wanted when I was little, and she's a retired doll now - meaning you can't get her new any more! What are the chances? Kirsten is Emmy's favorite story, too. It all worked out beautifully!
Lala went in on the doll with me, and it was a wonderful surprise for my Emmy girl.

This little doll (I've moved on from American Girls to the real thing, man) was loving her Katie hat. Can you blame her? I think it's my favorite one yet! 

Jonah got an awesome remote control car, which I somehow missed getting a photo of. It ended up being slightly too awesome, so Caleb bought him a milder one the next week. Now Caleb has an awesome remote control car to zoom around with the milder one that Jonah is able to control! They love it! That worked out super well, too!

This was my gift from Jonah, and it melted me. It's an empty toilet paper roll, with a little bit of gold glitter glue on it. I told him I loved it, and asked him what it was. He replied "It's just something beautiful for you to look at."  Swoon.
When we were decorating the tree a few weeks earlier, one of my favorite ornaments was accidentally broken. 

Caleb and I were given this for our wedding, and it was nothing special other than that. But it was cute! Emmy was more heartbroken than I was when it broke, being a sentimental soul. So she made me this:

I can tell you, undoubtably, that this one means far more to me than the other one did. This is what gifts should be like all the time! If only it were possible that all gifts could be this thoughtful.

It was a fantastic day, to say the least, and enjoyed by all. It was also the first Christmas we have ever had when we stayed home all day! Caleb's parents were at our house, and my parents are in Russia, so where would we have gone?

So... I know this is crazy, but I made Christmas dinner! I had help. It was delish.

Now.... I can't wait to show you what Caleb made me! But it deserves a post of it's own.