Bring on the Power Tools!

Okay, power tools may be a bit of an exaggeration. But I need to brag about my latest home improvement project -- and it did involve the use a battery-powered drill in its completion. That counts, right?

So I typically have kept all of my necklaces in the jewelry drawer of my dresser. This drives me crazy because they often get tangled, it's difficult to see/remember what's in there, and so on and so forth. So I decided I needed a new method of jewelry storage that kept my necklaces both neat and visible. Enter Target and an battery-powered drill....

After checking out several necklace tree options and rejecting them because they didn't hold enough necklaces (or were just plain ugly), I settled on the idea of creating a place to hang necklaces on my wall using several dark-wood finished key rails from Target. I bought four of them at $3.99 each. 

I waited until Addy was down for a nap. Then, getting a step stool and engaging the ready help of my handy-dandy four-year-old, I set to work.

I eyeballed where I wanted the rails to go on the wall (I even brought out the level as a nod to my engineer husband, but did not go so far as measuring out exactly where it would be centered on the wall. Sorry, Dave.), marked out where I needed the holes with a pencil and then (gulp) drilled pilot holes into the wall, followed by screws holding the rails in place.

I repeated this process four times and got the following result: neat, tidy, visible and attractive necklace storage.

 As you can see, the dark wood even matches the finish on the mirror and dresser that are next to it.

Jackson proudly displaying the result of "our" effort. All for a grand total of $16.96 and one afternoon spent on a step stool with a four-year-old.

Last Day of Skiing

On the last Saturday of April, Dave and I took the two older kids for one last ski trip. Even though that weekend we were in the midst of trying to clean out the junk room (and turn it into a room for something other than junk), I had bought a Groupon for skiing at Mt. Hood Skibowl and it was the last day we could use it before it expired. So we left our unsorted junk piles and skied.

It was the second time we took them skiing this season. They had an all-day lesson the first time and a shorter lesson this time, so by the end of the day they could ski most of the lower bowl. We could actually ski together as a group and have a lot of fun. This was of course a long way from where we started that day.

Jared bombing down the mountain.

Our first run of the day started with some barely downhill could-be-cross-country-skiing paths. As soon as we got to the part of the mountain that was actually downhill, Camryn refused to ski and launched into a tantrum and tears and “Why can’t we ski at the place we skied last time instead?” Apparently the other resort's bunny hill was more bunny and less racer rabbit. I skied with Jared while Dave dealt with the crying and protestations that it was too hard and why couldn't she just get back on the lift and take it back down the mountain. When Jared and I had gotten to the bottom of the mountain, taken the lift back up and caught up to them on our second time down, I told Dave to trade places with me. I spent another 20 minutes trying to convince her that she could get down the mountain in one piece if she would just try and do what I showed her. I'd seen her ski before and she was perfectly capable of doing this hill. She was just scared and looking all the way down the mountain instead of looking to the next turn. Finally after using every technique/imagery/motivational trick in my book I just told her she could have a Slurpee if she did three turns without crying or falling. Apparently sugar is a much more effective short-term motivator than either reminders of past success or promises of future skiing glory. Bribery did its work and we made it to the bottom of the mountain fairly quickly thereafter.

I am sure there is some deep life lesson to be drawn from this... about all the times I figuratively sit on the hill screaming, "I can't go down! It's too hard! I like the other easier hill better!" while meanwhile God is saying, "Just do a turn or two and get started. You'll be fine. I know you can do it." I don't know if God stoops to Slurpee bribery (although if you made it Oregon Ice Works sorbet, I'd be  WAY more tempted) but maybe he does stand next to us on the hill, offering some encouragement, waiting for us to finish our tantrums and just start doing turns again. 

Jared and Camryn during their ski lesson.

During the middle of the day, Jared and Camryn had a one-hour ski lesson. It was supposed to be a two-hour group lesson, but it was just the two of them, so the instructor made it a one-hour semi-private lesson instead. While they got coaching and practice on making turns, Dave and I went to the top of the mountain to tackle a black diamond. Given my fear of heights, I think it is pretty amazing that I have gotten to the point where I can ski a black diamond-- and not just make it down alive, but actually stay in control the entire time. Now if only I can get to the point where I can relax and enjoy it (and not breathe a huge sigh of relief at the bottom that I'm still alive).... But hey, this is my blog so I can toot my own horn and say, "Hooray for me!" if I want to. (This hill looks WAAY steeper in real life. Especially from the top. Just sayin'.)

Me at the bottom of the black diamond.

It was a great day with surprisingly good snow--especially considering it was the end of April. By the end of the day even Camryn admitted that this resort was pretty fun and she would do it again-- a far cry from her earlier attempts to get me to promise that we would never come back to this ski resort. I don't know if I would go that far about my figurative "ski hills," but maybe just getting to the bottom, breathing a sigh of relief and saying, "Hey, I'm still alive!" is good enough too.

Camryn after deciding skiing wasn't so bad after all.

How to Catch a Salamander

(Note to toot my own horn: These pictures are all from TODAY. How ambitious is THAT!)

Last Friday the kids and I had a near-perfect afternoon. We were lucky enough to enjoy a couple-hour spurt of nice weather. In Oregon, when the sun comes out-- even for just a few hours-- everyone else comes out with it. People walk their dogs, kids go out and play, neighbors go for a jog. Jared and Camryn rode bikes while Jackson putted around on his scooter. When Addy woke up, I loaded her and Jackson into the double stroller and went for a walk around our neighborhood. We ran into a neighbor who was out planting flowers and got into a conversation. Eventually Jackson got tired of sitting in the stroller so got out and played with her kids. Pretty soon Addy followed suit. Before too long, Jared and Camryn came riding by on their bikes asking what was taking me so long. All of the kids ended up roaming the neighborhood, catching salamanders and playing in an open field, having the time of their lives while I had a relaxed afternoon chatting.

Ever since that afternoon when our neighbor Noah taught Jared and Camryn how to catch a salamander (You open up a control valve box in the grass and stick your fingers down by the control valve-- sounds great, huh?), these crawly amphibians have been the new stars of our household. We have a small box on our back deck to keep the catch of the day (until it escapes). Everyone loves "sah-manders" (as Jackson calls them) and every single day after school the kids hunt for them, go digging for worms to feed them, invite the neighbors over to see them and catch some of their own, etc., etc.

Meet "Sally"

 

The kids' outdoor play was interrupted by a hail storm, but this is Oregon. If you don't like the weather, just wait 15 minutes.

Camryn having fun in the hail storm.

"This is awesome!"

Jared explaining some important fact about hail.

"Dat's not rain! It's snowing!"

Eventually the hail storm passed and the sun came out again. Regardless or either, the kids are just having a great time hunting worms and salamanders. I think salamanders are my new best friends. They may even oust Curious George.

 "A salamander is just like a hamster, only more wet." -Jared

Did I Mention I'm Amazing?

When I arrived back from my Girls Weekend at the beach it was Sunday night around dinnertime. I was enthusiastically greeted by my kids and especially my husband-- who had been taking care of all four kids by himself since Friday night. Along with a visible look of relief, Dave told me that he no longer had any expectations of anything for me while I watched the kids during the day: simply keeping them alive was good enough for him.

In my excitement for the beach weekend, I had forgotten that February 6th (the day of my homecoming) is officially "Tell Karen She's Amazing Day." I came home and not only was told that I am amazing but was also given a full celebration of this most important of holidays (the perks of making your own calendar). :)

I had the royal treatment complete with a celebratory banner to mark this ceremonious occasion...

and homemade Chocolate Caramel Pecan Brownies made by my fabulous husband (Yes, ladies, that is HOMEMADE caramel on the top. Jealous comments will be accepted.)

Chocolate Caramel Pecan Brownies

To fully appreciate the true artistry of the sign requires a few close-up shots:

Don't mess with me!

Who could help but telling someone this beautiful that she is awesome?

Anyway, it's nice to be appreciated, even if it takes leaving for the weekend and establishing your own national holiday. But I could tell I was missed and it's nice to be needed. :)

Jackson wants brownies.

Addy has a big smile for mom.

Our New and Fabulous Front Yard

Here are some pictures of our new front yard after I finished my huge planting project. In the process of planting a tree in the corner, Dave and I broke a sprinkler pipe (which took a while for Dave to get repaired), so in this picture the lawn is getting really scruffy from not getting watered for a while- on top of the general abuse it took from all of the digging and renovation going on. I also still need to do the edging around the grass, but you can at least get the general idea.

But enough excuses- I'm still really proud of myself for completing the project- while I was pregnant, no less, and before I left on my trip. [Pat self on back.] =)

Before:



















After:

Postscript to "Workin' It"

Believe it or not, I did finish planting the front yard before we left for California. I started to tally up how many plants I dug holes for and planted (or transplanted) and I think it was close to 50. Quite shocking, especially because our front yard isn't even that big. And at least 6 or 7 of them were some pretty size-able ones. Did I mention I broke a shovel? =] OK, fine. I'll stop patting myself on the back for my pregnant feats of muscle power and move on with this post.

I did eventually get ready for our trip, including house-cleaning, vacuuming out our minivan (a.k.a unearthing a french-fry burial site) and getting the oil changed on the car. And... I would like you to take a moment of silence to acknowledge that I had- I kid you not- all the bathrooms in my house clean AT THE SAME TIME. [moment of awed silence]

Now I will try to ignore the fact that despite my hard-working days of trip preparation we STILL left at 10:00 am instead of 6:00 am, had dirty dishes in the sink, and by the time we left I was fighting off tears of frustration at how impossible it is to pack up, clean up and mobilize a house of five people. You can't win them all.