Me (to Brother who is found picking his nose):  Do you need a tissue?

Brother: No, I’m just getting this out.

Me: It’s a booger.

Brother:  Yeah.

Me (as I see him contemplating the booger’s destiny): Well, don’t eat it. Put it in this tissue and throw it in the trash. It’s yucky. 

Brother (after further contemplation):  Yeah, it’s yucky . . . but the good boogers are for eating.

I thought about challenging this assumption but wisely chose to retreat instead.  A mother has to pick her battles.

For some time now (since the Sister can’t sleep phase) we’ve had a family bedroom.  I don’t have a picture of it but sufficed to say it was cramped.  Here is a picture that will simulate the feeling.

It’s not a bedroom at all.  It’s our den and it substituted as our family bedroom while the real thing was being deconstructed.  We didn’t really have a plan so how could I know when we started our bedroom switch-a-roo project that it would not only end in more privacy for the parents. (And angels descended from heaven singing, “Glory to God in the highest.”) but also result in my fabuloso craft room.  I am blessed.

Here’s a before picture not from the very beginning but about halfway through when the room was actually starting to take shape.  Both beds had to be disassembled, moved from another room and reassembled here.  Fun times.

Both beds are 3/4 bunk height so the children each have a special hideaway space of their own underneath.  Sister got creative this week and pulled out one of our car DVD players.  “Look, Mom!  Now my hideout has cable!”  She has plans to install a water gun security system and to train Serafina as a guard cat.  Also, I have a sneaking suspicion she might know where all the extra granola bars are hiding.  She’s nothing if not prepared.

I know closets are not that interesting but you will understand the significance if I first explain that since we have lived in this house (almost a year!) I have had to go to no less than 2 rooms every morning to gather all my clothing.  At certain points in that year Will has gone to as many as 3 rooms to get what he needs.  Ridiculous I know but closet rod space was at a premium so we did what we could.  The picture above represents the first step toward closet normalcy.

*coming soon when I get around to it:  “The Parents’ Get a Room of Their Own”

Is it normal to use a blow torch when lighting birthday candles?  No?  I was afraid of that.

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*because Sister believes in the “make up words as you need them” method of speech

**no frogs were harmed  traumatized mortally wounded during this learning experience

***technically speaking they were toads.

Today has been an outstanding day.  The good stuff started yesterday evening really.  We met up with Will’s sister and dad who offered to take us out to dinner at the neatest little Route 66 gas station you ever did see.  The kiddo’s got some t-shirts to commemorate the experience and I bought a cookbook of favorite Oklahoma dishes.  That night found us in Tulsa chatting it up with the folks which brings us to today where the outstandingness continued with trips to the Planetarium and the hobby store.  Back at home we ate cake and watched Return of the Jedi.  All of this to celebrate the birth of my sweetheart.  Yes, it’s been a fun time.  I was am grateful for the distraction because yesterday - yesterday afternoon at least was pretty crummy.

We drove to Edmond to visit the ultrasound lady recommended by my midwife.  She was tactful and extremely kind but there is truly no good way to deliver hard news.  My body still believes itself to be pregnant but our child stopped growing about a month ago.  I am not a weepy sort of griever preferring instead to focus on present joys and blessings.  Help me out, will you?  Tell me something that makes you smile or tell me about a blessing in your life?  And then go hug your children and tell them it’s from me.

To be fair this was midway through our bedroom rearrangement (That story coming soon.) so there were a number of items that got dumped here for lack of a better place.  Also, I am aware that the pictures on the wall are not artfully arranged.  In fact they were not really arranged at all.  They were hung there for safety’s sake.  I have tried storing pictures using various stacking methods and leaning against the wall methods and packing away methods but every method was either too labor intensive or left my frames scratched/dinged in some way.  Now I hang my art on a single wall until each piece finds it’s proper home.

Ahh, that’s better.  See the shelves?!  Hubby hung those for me so I could collect all my crafty supplies from their scattered locations into one place.  I also have supplies stored in the 3 Sterilite containers.

I love these because the clear drawers make it easy to find what you need.  I also like that they roll and when moving time comes none of these supplies will have to be repacked.  I just tape the drawers shut and roll the unit into the moving van.

Here’s the view from where Brother was sitting (above).  I knew I wanted as much working surface as possible and I had three folding tables but three tables (four if you count the kid’s computer desk) in such a small space wasn’t working until we tried varying the heights.  The big white table is at counter height and makes a great layout space and cutting surface.  The blue table is desk height perfect for all sorts of general work and the sewing table is slightly shorter which works for Sister who wants to learn how to sew and I can always move the machine up to the blue table if I have a big project to do.

This configuration also left room for the kid’s computer in the corner.  (Yes, my children have their very own computer and this is their homepage.  Impressive, eh?  I made it myself. )

A metal magazine rack my parents picked up at a garage sale several years ago works great for keeping paper and cardstock sorted.

And this handy wrapping paper rack, which I found at Lowe’s after I’d already taken the other pictures, is really designed to hold plastic wrap and such on a cabinet door.

To complete the ensemble I re-labeled ev-er-y-thing using this cutie font from here (Thanks Julie for the tip.)  My hubby laughed out loud when I told him to “check out the labels” and my sister mocked me openly but I know that you, internets, will understand the need for this bit of crafty icing.  It had to be done.

I know.  I’m a tad behind but I had so much fun making Mother’s Day cards this year that I had to share.  But I couldn’t very well do that until I was certain each card arrived at its chosen destination.

I always forget how satisfying crafting is until I get back to it again.  Now I suspect that getting back to it will be much easier because though these were done on my kitchen table future endeavors will be created in the very best mother’s day gift ever … my new craft room.

Wait for it…. pictures to come.

Today it rained and rained.  Then the sun gave up trying to come out and it rained some more.  We don’t actually live in the flood zone part of our city but with all this wetness it sure looks as if we do.  Sister has the sniffles so even though I typically let the children go out with boots and ‘brellas in weather like this, today was an indoor day.  All of us… indoors … all. day. long.  More fun than a barrel of monkeys, I tell you.  Actually it was rather like being indoors with a barrel of monkeys but that is neither here nor there.  What I wanted to tell you about was a non-monkey problem and how I solved it.

Most mommies will recall how the first trimester of pregnancy introduces a host of changes not the least of which is a heightened sense of smell.  By which, of course , I mean Mount Everest heightened.  This is a delightful asset as the flowers of spring begin to bud but not so delightful when one’s house is shut up by the rain and someone has dumped leftover taco meat into the trash and someone else failed to run the disposal after draining old milk into the sink and still another someone hasn’t quite got the hang of this potty training thing.  I took out the trash, ran lemons in the disposal and changed jr.  Still, random aromas persisted underlined by a subtle mustiness that comes of too much damp and not enough sunshine.  Between the waves of nausea I pondered my dilemma.  If only I had a good smell that would cover it all up.  This recipe for crockpot potpurri would work nicely… if only I had the ingredients.  A scented candle perhaps?  Pity the last one in the house was down to a nub with not even enough wick to temp a flame.  Think, woman! [insert nauseous wave] Think!

In an act of desperation and pulling inspiration from those hot plate looking candle warmers, I hacked up the last of my wickless candle and tossed the pieces into an empty glass jar.  The jar was placed in a small crockpot and left to ruminate with the lid off.  I waited … and hoped.

As the smell of pumpkin spice wafted through each room my nausea subsided and I knew this idea must be shared.

A couple of closing thoughts:  It occurs to me that a scented candle already in a jar could be placed directly in the crockpot.  Also, hubby suggested adding a bit of water in the bottom of the crockpot to keep the jar from getting too hot and breaking.  I didn’t have any trouble with breakage but it’s worth considering.