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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. . .

No cute pictures today. I'm sans computer and sans internet. . . thank heavens for the Public Library, eh? ( April did a cute job describing our local branch , where I'm sitting right now.) Here is what's happened and what's happening over the last couple crazy weeks: Last week: Wednesday - Drywallers finish mudding and taping, floor guys do prep Thursday - Drywallers prime walls, floor guys lay wood floor throughout Friday - Cabinet installers build cupboards Saturday - tile guy lays tile in bathroom, Saturday - WE MOVE! Phase I, from condo to garage at new house Sunday - First night sleeping on mattress in basement This week: Monday - Finish cabinet installation Tues-Sat - Paint and trim All week - clean and touch up condo Thurs - renters move in to condo May 1! Next week: Monday - My mom arrives to help with Lucy Mon-Thurs? - Floors sanded and finished ? - Countertop installed Appliances arrive Friday - My dad comes in town to help Saturday? - Phase II of the move, f...

No, she's not upset. Nope, she's not crying. That's Lucy's new smile. . . she scrunches her nose up and closes her eyes and flashes those pearly gums. I believe this is her second joke, something she does specifically to get laughs (her first joke was a fake cough). It has been killin' me and I finally got it on film today. Also, hard to believe that she is 8 months old. And in unrelated news, I made Gardenburger BLT's for dinner. . . that's right. Veggie burgers with bacon on top. I felt slightly weird about it. Like smothering a kosher hotdog with nacho cheese, you feel slightly guilty even if you're not vegetarian or jewish, but that somehow makes it taste all the better.

Clarification: On St. Patrick's day, I had a little post and picture about Lucy's beautiful, hand-knit green sweater. . . Some of you mistakenly believed I knitted that sweater and I want to be perfectly clear and honest about this. . . I knit, but I have never successfully finished a knitting project and have certainly never tried anything this ambitious. This gorgeous little sweater and hat were a gift for Lucy when she was born from our fantastic friend, Carrie Snow. It's really the most beautiful thing you can imagine, so soft and cuddly and of course incredibly hip and cool. Thanks, Carrie!

I saw Gene Shallot's movie review for this movie this morning on the Today Show (of course). . . I usually don't agree with his movie reviews AT ALL but this one I think he got right and I can hardly wait to see it. . . This will make you laugh. . . And this will make you cry. . .

That's right, I said blag: to blog and to brag. You heard it first here, folks. Hubby always says blogworld is a Mutual Appreciation Society and so let's mutually appreciate some worthy friends. . . My friend Erin's family just tested portable cribs for a feature in the New York Times! She and I were missionaries together in Madagascar oh so long ago. She and her hubby, Dave, are the most outdoorsy people I know. . . (the same Erin and Dave that rescued a skier out of an avalanche a couple years ago, dug him out, saved his life and were on talk shows all over the country, including the Today Show!) Four kids later, they still spend as much time as possible enjoying the great outdoors, so when the NY Times gear critic asked if anyone knew a family that might be camping this time of year with kids, the Hughes names were given. Of course, I'd hero-worship them anyway because they are just that cool, but anyone who's been on the Today Show and in the New York Times are ...

I didn't do a great job with before pictures, but here are the after pictures! The downstairs apartment is done! New paint, new flooring and carpet, new electrical, new lighting, original 50's tile, original doors and knobs, old green trim which I grew to love and couldn't paint over. . . Loads of thanks to my helpers, Analeis and Annie , and of course the people we paid, but they have their reward. . . Upstairs is looking good, too. Pictures next week.

So just when you thought you'd seen enough cute pictures of Lucy, you get to see more! Lucy got to be a model for the amazing Katherine of Wallin Photography who is organizing and putting on a spring photo shoot for April 26 in Salt Lake City. These are some sample pics to help get the idea across, think: bright, colorful, fun. Anyhow, check out her blog for pricing and details , she's even giving away a session to one lucky commenter, so spread the word and be sure to comment! No segue, lets just jump to another subject. Yesterday in his conference talk, Elder Ballard advised young, busy mothers to "cultivate special interests. . . set aside time for what replenishes you." I almost applauded. I love hobbies! Sometimes its easy to feel like you don't have any time or money or energy to do things just for yourself, but then once you do, you realize how much better you feel, and "replenished" is really a good word for it. I decided that right now, what r...

Trying to get a good shot of the Bed-head. . .

This solitary little card was found lying on the floor of the downstairs kitchen when my friend was there helping me clean. (Annie, did you see where it came from?) I wish the rest of the deck would appear as magically. I want to make a tiny frame for it! I've enlarged it for your screen, its really only 1 5/8" by 2 1/2", just little!

"Like Mr. Holland's Frumpus, but lamer." - Hubby "August Rush: bringing false hope to orphaned children everywhere. Ridiculous." - Me

The beautiful flowers Hubby gave me for our anniversary against a snowy background. That's right, I said snowy. March 27 and its snowy. Sigh. But back to happier thoughts, the flowers are a bouquet of pink star lilies, white tulips and a delicate calico hydrangea which I happened to have in my wedding bouquet. Lovely, huh? From a local florist called Roots.