Summer Projects

I thought I would just document a few of the projects I have tried this summer. Life has been busy but I squeeze time in for things like this occasionally.

#1 Homemade Starburst

This was delicious. I made it because I was in the mood for starbursts but we are trying to avoid all the extra preservatives that come in packaged foods. I am sure there weren't healthy, but I figure by making them I know what is in there. The recipe is pretty basic but turned out delicious. You can find the recipe at http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20101215160502AAcByeV I LOVE that you can make it with any flavor of kool-aid (not that kool-aid isnt packed with preservatives...alas the world we live in!)

#2 The Quiet Book

I wanted Evelyn to have a quiet book for her 1st birthday. Since they are super expensive to buy, I decided to make her one. It seemed really ambitious to me given my fledgling art skills, but it turned out remarkably well! She plays with it ALL of the time.

 Evelyn LOVES Peek-a-boo and playing with the 'baby in the mirror' so I combined both one page 1.

Evelyn likes to hide things in the teepee and in the mailbox. The flag goes up and down and pulls off via snap.

 Here is a close up of the zipper teepee and the Indian. I reinforced his body with 2 layers of felt, but should have reinforced his hands and feet too. Evelyn pulled one of his hands clean off!

 While Evelyn doesn't know how to snap things back on yet she places the removable shapes over their sewn on counterparts. She can already match them. She also likes to put the apples into the barrel.

 This page is her VERY favorite one! I made a piggy bank complete with coin slot. The purse is velcroed into the book, but can be completely removed so she can wear it. I baught the jute strap and eyeballed everything. I got a set of $ at the dollar store. The kind with coins too big to swallow. It also had money, fake checks, and fake credit cards. We keep an old cell phone in the purse too.

 This one just has velcro on flowers.

While this is the last page for now I have several more in mind for when life slows down a bit this fall. I am thinking Noah and the Ark, or maybe Jonah and the whale. Pinterest is a fountain of information and ideas about quiet books, but I found it worked out better if I came up with my own ideas after browsing for a little while. It took most of my spare time for two weeks since a LOT of it is hand stiched, but it was definitely worth it to see Evelyn have so much fun.

#3 The Easter Basket

I was helping stage an apartment for photos and tours last month. We needed a classy basket for the living room. This was all we had hanging around an old storage closet at the complex.

Tres chic eh? three hours, some tugging, and two coats of spray paint later it is the basket under the table in the picture below.

 Not bad for upcycling.

#4

This one has no pictures since it is still in the works. I have a box of flat 2 inch wood tiles. I am sanding them and adding colors and pictures to them to make a matching game for Evelyn. I think they will turn out well. If they do, I will post pictures. If not, you'll probably see pictures anyways :)

Well this summer overtaxed my creativity, but I think it was good for me. I will keep it up and we will see what comes of it!

What A Summer!

Well I thought I would do a blog post every month, but with my schedule that has NOT been do-able. I suppose I will just catch you all up when I have some down time...not that loads of you read this blog on a regular basis, but I am grateful for a few old and new friends who do :)

Kevin and I have been managing the Sparks II complex for a little over 3 months now. It is a lot of work, but I think it is really good for our little family. I LOVE that I can be home with Evelyn. With summer being the busiest time of year I also love that I can look forward to this job slowing down a lot once school starts. I have been selling contracts all summer and today we are down to our very last 2 contracts 1 for men and 1 for women. With three weeks plus till school starts I think we will fill.

Although summer is the busiest time here and I can look forward to things quieting down, I have made some realizations about life and priorities this time around. My pans for the summer were to work as manager, study for comprehensives, write my thesis and be a mommy. Plans for the fall would be the same, but would also add in my 10 hour a week assistant-ship. As I was doing all the things that were expected of me (including filling in as a lecturer on campus every couple of weeks) I saw a disturbing trend. My work, thesis, study, and teaching were all getting in the way of my other responsibility...mommy.

That is backwards right? ...right. To all you mommies out there you probably understand. I had no time even before adding in baby's needs. I felt like I always had to tell Evelyn "Sorry sweetheart, mommy doesn't have time to play right now." How could I keep saying that to my little buddy? This time in her life is so developmentally important. I want her to know from early on that she matters to me. I want to be accessible to Evelyn because I am grateful that my own mom was always accessible to me. I want Evelyn to learn how to play make believe and how to build with blocks, how to scribble and how to climb the stairs. And I want her to learn to do those things with me. She deserves a best friend who is available.

I was faced with one of the toughest choices I have ever made. What to give up. Well, as a grad student you are expected to make some sort of contribution to the department in the form of teaching or TAing so that couldn't go. I needed to keep the management job because that was an answer to prayer and is a great way for me to help us save up now that Kevin is in grad school. After weeks of thinking about it, I decided that my masters degree was the one thing  I could let go for the sake of something better. I realized that I was finishing my degree to finish it, not because finishing it would change anything about my life. I had thought that I might teach a few classes once my kids were bigger, but if you are out of the field for years a university probably won't hire you anyways. I realized that this is a time in life that I will not get back. I need to be present in my home. I know I have made the right decision. Now that I am accessible Evelyn is WAY happier! She will come over and play with me for 10 or 15 minutes at a time, but then returns to what she was doing. We go to the park, duck pond, or swimming most every day.

Now I am just working as manager and being a wife and mother. While there are still times when I need to work and must tell Evelyn I can't play right now, I am so much more focused on home and family. Even when I am working Evelyn is with me (unless she is napping).

I am so grateful for Evelyn! She is now 13 months old. I have been meaning to post some photos of this summer.

 Having fun with cousins up in Garland.

 Evelyn LOVES her hat and wears it all over the house.

 My whole family came down for her  birthday. We swam in the pool and had a BBQ.

 Time for cake!

 Evelyn's first exposure to chocolate was a roaring success!

 Evelyn was on this kick for a few days where she would put her jumper over her head and crawl around giggling. 

 On the train at Lagoon.

 Laughing at the monkeys at Hogle Zoo.

 We go swimming a few times a week. Evelyn LOVES the water.

 Ducks in two directions at the duck pond. She didn't know which way to look first!

 She is getting SO big!

 Apparently Evelyn thinks the ducks have had enough bread. Her turn now :)

 Evelyn is a great climber...at the park...in the house...on the bookshelves...

 We keep a diaper changing station in an ottoman. She opens the lid and climbs in almost daily.

Computer wiz kid. Already learning how to type and run a mouse :)

Life is good! The next couple of weeks will be crazy as the students arrive for school, but I think we can do it. Have a great day!