I apologize

I need to start with some apologies.

First, sorry that I have been absent for a bit. My internet connection has been nearly impossible. DigitalBridge took over the company we were using and things have rapidly gone from "not great" to "really bad." There are some days I can't even log on until the afternoon and then it's hit and miss. I usually can't load more than 5 pages at a time before it's down again. Today, we've not had any trouble. We'll see how it goes.

Second, sorry that there are going to be an unfair amount of pictures. I've been saving some things up and due to actually having a life and/or no internet service, I haven't been able to share them. Now you get a bunch at once. But a picture is worth a thousand words, so this should classify as an epic tale.

Third, sorry about the comments that my brother-in-law-in-law (Chad's sister's husband) leaves for all of you to enjoy. He likes to be colorful and shocking, though he CAN be pleasant company. He was obviously on his best behavior when he was dating Chad's sister. He once taught the boys how to flip peas with a spoon at a wedding reception. It took several years for us to recover from that!

Now to get down to business. I've been handicapped, so typing is neither fun nor easy. I've had a little semi-squishy, movable bump on my left pinky at the middle knuckle for some time. I had it checked out yesterday and the doctor put in a big needle to drain it. It was a tiny lump of partially calcified blood. It may have been caused by a burn I got there many, many weeks ago. So now my pinky is throbbing and useless. And I keep bumping it on things since I can't bend it. Yes, please feel sorry for me; it may speed up the healing process.

We've recently adopted 3 cats. It was supposed to be 2, but one disappeared so we went looking for another and then the other suspiciously reappeared. So now we have 3, but only 2 are working cats. We got the first two,

Fair - 6 years and

Tabby - 2 years on Monday last week. Fair had some bad luck a couple of years ago and lost a leg. We adopted her out of kindness since she came with Tabby who is a very good mouser. Both cats are very sweet, but still getting used to being in our busy house.

We just got Trouble - 7 months, on Monday this week (because we thought Tabby had escaped and wasn't coming back). He is the odd man out as the two other cats are slow to accept a boy cat into their lives. Trouble is a very unique cat and makes very strange cat calls. Last night we thought he was saying "hello" because it sounded just like it. I'm not sure why he doesn't just meow like a normal kitty. We'll see if he does once he settles in a bit more.

Joseph turned 5 months earlier this month and we decided to try him out on the rice cereal. Here he is with his first taste of semi-solid food (if you don't count the banana he licked or the tiny drop of melted ice cream we poked his pacifier into). He didn't have any problems eating it. I'm not too sure he actually liked it.

And here is a picture of Joseph a little over a month ago. He was so cute in his seat. It will be an adorable scrapbook page some day. This shot makes me think of a gopher peeking up out of his hole.

This is shot I captured one Sunday afternoon. I walked into the room, saw this and walked back out for the camera.

Here is a promising picture. Joseph can already multi-task! Now if only I could figure out how to sleep and do something else at the same time. The world truly would be a better place.


Here is what happens when the kids get a turn with the digital camera. I've been very selective with the pictures I'm sharing. No one needs to see me from the rear - especially an upward view.

I finally finished that little quilt I was working on. Here it is with the binding. Sorry for the dark picture.

The girls recently became ladybugs, due mostly to the costume craft I got from Oriental Trading Company. I've been wondering how Leah knows to tilt her head for a picture.

And here is a little preview of my dining room curtains. (Another reason why I haven't been on the computer as much.) The actual fabric is a bit brighter than the picture shows. I'm going for a patchwork feel, if you can't tell. :)

And while I could continue to ramble on, I really need to go make lunch before the natives eat me alive!

Up to no good

I've been trying to keep out of trouble lately. Here's a little of the past week or so.

A small quilt top


We made strawberry syrup and strawberry jam from a flat of strawberries. Chad is using the Squeezo. I love that thing! It gets out the juice and separates it from the pulp and seeds. Not so fun to wash it though.
A whole flat of strawberries and this is all we get??




I made a batch of bread yesterday. This time, it did not cave in and make itself into a bread bowl loaf. However, I am having a problem with the tops of my loaves sinking a bit and leaving me with a wrinkled crust. Anyone have any suggestions? Share them in the comments!

I mopped the floor tonight. I realize that some of you will not think this is anything worth mentioning. If that is the case for you, let me introduce myself. Hi. I'm Arlyn. I don't often mop my floor. When you come for a visit, please don't take your shoes off.

I also cleaned up the laundry room which had been terrorized by muddy boots all winter. It was an all day effort, but it looks so much nicer!

I bought 12 yards of fabric this afternoon to make dining room curtains. It cost me just under $50. That is my motivation to actually make the curtains! When you come for a visit, please mention how cute they are! (But give me a couple of weeks to make them.)

Nathan and Joseph got shots yesterday. Nathan got his last chicken pox shot and Joseph just about got everything. Poor kid. He woke up with a little fever this morning, but slept for a good chunk of the night! Rebekah and Joseph are on the down side of ear infections.

Daniel signed up for pee wee baseball tonight. It's more like a clinic, I think. It's only about a month long. Perfect!!! He still gets a T-shirt out of it, so he'll have something to brag about until he outgrows it (in two years at the rate he's growing). Anyway, he's quite excited about it. I said I'd only sign him up if he would quit complaining about going to TaVaci for the rest of the season. He starts to get TaVaci burn out near the end of each semester. I'm not a pushy mom, though! I don't make him sign up...I just make him finish. He gets a trophy when they graduate the kids in 6th grade. Part of him wants the trophy...part of him doesn't (the vocal part).

And for those who would like to and are able to, the Spring TaVaci concert is May 10th. That's a Saturday. It would be over about 7 pm, I'm guessing. It's free and you can watch Daniel and Leah on stage. You can also watch Nathan in the seats. He gets restless about 3/4 the way through and starts asking when it's over.

I have been doing a lot of laundry lately as Rebekah is timing her bathroom trips poorly. The boys just chose to wet their pants. Leah never did. But it seems like Rebekah is creating more laundry than any of the others ever did. It's been interesting. The little spot of linoleum by the toilet gets cleaned almost daily. And you should know that goes against my cleaning nature!

Other than that, I haven't been doing much. And my house shows it. On a happier note, I have been more patient and slower to anger with the kids. We're having nicer days all around. (I still want them to leave me alone while I eat my breakfast!)

Not nesting

I think I'm supposed to be "nesting" right now. Since I've been having to keep the house pretty clean, I don't have a lot to do that isn't constantly being done. And I can't get the nursery ready or the little clothes prepped because they are in storage for another couple of weeks.

I have accomplished some things lately. I finished the baby's Sunday afghan (blue) and his flannel crib blanket (purple). I tied Leah's blanket (pink/purple/yellow) and got it on her bed last Saturday. That was quite an adventure. I had to lay it out on the floor and roll myself into a ball to tie the darned thing. I made the binding and sewed it on during Saturday's Conference sessions. I was very relieved to realize that I was all caught up on kids' blankets! I don't have any that need to be started or finished right now. YIPPEE!

I performed a miracle yesterday and spent a couple hours quilting the quilt on my frame yesterday. It's been at least 6 months since I advanced the fabric to a new position. I finally did yesterday. I'm still not quite 1/4 done. (And there's another one to put on after this one is done.)


I cut out the pattern and material for the baby's blessing outfit today. I had to sit down several times during the process to give my back a rest. I could have used another 4-5 inches in height on my cutting table. I'm short, but today it just wasn't enough!

There's only 5 1/2 weeks to go before this baby meets his crazy family. I'm glad. I've been having several contractions a day. They are most inconvenient and pointless, too. The baby is running out of room and trying to make larger accommodations for himself. Luckily, he's low, so my rib cage hasn't been too abused.

When we talk about Halloweens costumes around here, we say the baby already has his costume: Mommy.

We recently survived two weeks of school break. That's probably one of the reasons I haven't posted recently. I was glad the bus came around Tuesday morning. I had barely recovered from the summer and then the kids had two weeks off. It was a long two weeks.

It snowed twice during those two weeks. Last Saturday it snowed until sometime in the afternoon and didn't completely melt until Monday or Tuesday.

We really need the moisture around here, but we're trying to close on a house that needs some roof work and sprinkler work done. Rain and melting snow make the ground soggy and the roof continues to leak.

We've only had two people look at our house. The first were looking for a house they could put an apartment in and the second decided to stay in the city they were from. We almost had someone look today, but the agent's phone died and the appointment was never completed. The irony was that the agent was two houses down and I could see him on the phone. I knew he had called our realtor. I would have let them in if only they had asked!

If you wanted to check out my latest scrapbook pages, you could find them here. There are a couple of mine and some from other people, too.

And that's what we've been up to lately. You haven't missed much. :)

Vote Now!

I'm planning Leah's blanket pattern. Vote for your favorite pattern. These colors are close to her colors, but the actual fabric is a little lighter.

Pattern #1

Crazy Quilts

Pattern #2

All vertical blocks are identical in direction and all horizontal blocks are identical in direction. Creates a bit of a stair-step look.

I usually go for the most orderly, but sometimes the random designs are kind of fun. What is your opinion? Vote in the comments.