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We moved into the house over the weekend! Wahoo! Major accomplishments include: all dishes are unpacked, all lights are in and working, laundry room is running (nonstop, for the last 24 hours, btw), fridge is stocked, first meal cooked in new kitchen (chicken taco salad), wireless and connected again, garden planted. Things not yet done: before and after pictures to post, bathroom, curtains, wall-hangings, lawn mowed. Incidentally, I posted this ad in the local Craig's List today. . .

I'm kind of playing catch-up, here. I've been meaning to post some of the wonderful and beautiful items that were hand-made for Lucy as gifts when she was born. This is a gorgeous pink and white nine-patch baby quilt made for Lucy by her Gramma Leen , my mom. My mom has always been a terrific quilter and a generous giver and loves to combine these two talents. I think this is where my love of quilting came from. Whenever we're together, we love to visit quilt shops, collect fabric and ideas for quilts and show off our current projects. As if a hand-made quilt by my mom for my daughter wasn't sentimental enough, this one has extra meaning because we got the idea for it years ago when my mom and dad were down for a visit. We went to the Church Museum together to see an exhibit on Joseph Smith and some of the artifacts that the church has from his life. There was a beautiful little wooden cradle and in it a delicate nine-patch, pink and white baby quilt. We both fell in ...

I'm currently reading: Turning Tables by Heather and Rose Macdowell Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson Lucy is currently reading: Baby Touch and Feel Animals Hubby is currently reading: . . . still. *** Hubby rebuts with this post, " White Problems: Poorly Read Partners " on one of his favorite blogs, Stuff White People Like . How appropriate. Touche, darling. ***

My parents were in town last weekend for mother's day and to help us move. . . Mother's Day happened, the move didn't. So we put them to work helping play with Lucy and tame our crazy yard, or was it the other way around? Thank goodness I come from a long line of excellent yardworkers, hope those green thumbs are a dominant trait. Here is my dad up in a tree where he also hung a rope swing for the nephews: And Gramma Gwen trimming back the hedge in front: And me trying to save the lilacs from the ivy that was choking them. Don't look at me, look at the lilac: Here is my mom playing with Lucy, don't they look alike? Or does Lucy look more like me? Anyhow, we got a lot done. Thanks, Mom and Dad and Gramma! Are you busy next weekend?

Well, progress is being made upstairs at the house, slowly but surely. And pictures of drywall and primer and unfinished floors aren't all that exciting, so I'll wait till you can see a little more to show pictures. But we do have ceilings and walls and doors and cabinets and hard wood floors by now. This week floors are being finished and then left alone for three days that noone can walk on them while they dry/cure/set? Then the painters need to finish up. . . then the light fixtures get put in. . . then the window coverings need to go up. . . then the locks need to be changed. . . then the countertops can go in. . . and when the rest of the tile comes in for the bathroom (yours truly WAY under-ordered) the tub surround can be finished. . . then the bathroom walls can be plastered. . . then the toilet and sink can go in. . . what am I missing? Oh, when all that is done, THEN we can move in! The photo above is of one of the doors downstairs. . . one of the only surfaces in the...

I think this is the Amy Butler bag pattern I've always been waiting for! I love it!

In the middle of all the craziness of trying to pack up and move and get the new house ready for us and the old condo ready for renters, I had to drop everything a couple weeks ago and make some crib bumpers. It became imperative that I make bumpers because Lucy kept getting arms and legs caught in between the rails of her crib and would FREAK OUT. I mean, complete panic, and who can blame her, it was the saddest thing ever. So boxes sat half packed, grades for my class were pushed off one more day, dishes remained un-washed, and I made some bumpers. Now, the good thing about urgent crafting is that you can't overthink it. I just had to use what I had in my fabric stash and go with it. I did make a special run to the store for some buttons and string elastic, however, as a way to attach them to the rails (mostly because my friend Janelle told me her little Hazel unties her bumpers everyday and I wanted to avoid that little game!).

Still without my normal setup, but that doesn't mean I can't post from the trenches! I'm sitting in a McDonald's parking lot with my laptop so I can catch up on email and every one else's blogs, I feel so out of touch! Sorry the color is so bad on this photo, I took it with my cell phone the other night at my 4-year old nephew's b-day party. We went to the Spaghetti Factory and for some reason my oldest nephew Sam brought along some googly eyes. When his mom got up to go to the bathroom, her minestrone soup arrived and was soon embellished with some floating eyeballs and a carrot stick mouth. Cracks me up. I think I may start carrying googly eyes in my bag, just to have in times like these. . .