the robot is finished...

Ok, so it was yesterday.. or the day before.. but it is finished. Kody finished it up by adding some facial features and other details. Check it out!

Kody was adding "freckles" to the robot's cheek. "Just like me!"

Kody decided that while the robot was a boy he still needed hair on his head. LOL!

Ok, so I did all the cool buttons on the left side of the robot, but Kody was still super happy with my detail work.. or she was just happy to be drinking chocolate milk.. definately my detail work.

Robot Building Phase II

So, continuing our rainy day activities, we (meaning mostly Kody) painted our robot this morning.

 Doesn't phase II look awesome? As you see from the photo above she started out with several individual colors but ended up with a maroon-ish brown body and a blue head.

In phase III we will (hopefully) be adding eyes, mouth, and other "robot" type details with white paint and other bits I have collected over the last week or so. Stay tuned.

Rainy day adventures...

First, let's start out with how MUCH I LOVE cloudy, overcast and gray skies. Oh to be home again. Home no matter what my darling husband tells me, will always be the pacific northwest, mostly the Puget Sound. That is home.  Everywhere else is just temporary housing, no matter how much I love where our family lives, home will always be there. End of story.
So, today, guess what it's gray and cloudy and overcast! IT IS WONDERFUL!!  I was really getting sick of all that flippin sunshine! With that the kids decided to partake in a rainy day tradition.. playing in the rain, rain puddles, and just plain ol' stomping about the mud! Two words: FUN STUFF!

 Peter-Leo, Kody and I at the "lake" aka the massive rain drainage hole that all the kids love to play in.

Peter-Leo flying down the road on his scooter.

Kody splashing in the water. It was too bright in color so I had to make it B&W. I think she is priceless.

Kody hiding while we played in the woods (above) and (below) taking off her pullover, because she "don't need it. it's just rain mom. duh." We were so close to our house that it didn't matter!

Earlier in the day we started our "robot" we have the first layer on & we are waiting for it to dry.. maybe tomorrow we'll skip the second layer and just paint! More fun for sure!!

the play kitchen redo.. almost finished..

So, our humble little play kitchen started out like this...

Monty made it for Kody for Christmas 2009. It's a little too tall and plain...

but we lived with it for a couple years.

Until...

I could not take it anymore. I lobbed off 4 inches from the bottom, lowered the shelves, added some handles, cut out a window (added curtains) and painted.  I still need to find a faucet set and add a curtain rod to cover the under the sink area... but much better!!

At least for now...

Woodpeckers friend or foe??

Now the answer to this question strictly depends on who you are asking. Ask my sister, Jenn, and she will tell you the little bird is wrecking havoc on the side of her house. YIKES!

But.. ask me... and (in my bestest Steve Irwin voice) CRIKEY! WHAT A BEAUTY!!

 Isn't it a beauty! It wasn't nearly as loud as I thought it would have been...

Here is a closer shot of the woodpecker in our backyard.

The results of it's hard work.. thankfully it was a tree and not my house.

bunnys and blanket repairs

First, the one crafty thing that I worked on this week was these little glove bunnies. Yes, I said gloves not mittens. Let the two not be confused. According to Webster...
Gloves are : a covering for the hand having separate sections for each of the fingers and the thumb and often extending part way up the arm
Mittens are a covering for the hand and wrist having a separate section for the thumb only
I don't know why I this bothers me so much, but I dislike when people confuse the two. THEY AREN'T THE SAME. Ok, coming down from the soap/whining box and back to the craft.

Bring on the bunnies..

 Here are the four bunnies that I did. I think they turned out cute.

 Awww. Look at the little fluffy bunny behinds, bottoms and butts!

Bunny Buddies. A closer shot of two bunnies.



And once again, Peter-Leo brought me his blanket. The very same one he was given by the Young Women in the ward we lived in at his birth. Those girls (and their leaders) were amazing. It's lasted 9 years so far.  Anywho. The poor blanket has seen better (and less rough) days, but it got another tear. So, more repair work had to be done. Which for my skill set is cutting off the shredded piece and "rebinding" that edge. It was only a bit this time. But it's patched.. for now.

The blanket, edge pinned and ready to sew my straight line.

Yes, I know a photo of a photo isn't great, but it's all I got right now. This is Peter-Leo on his blanket. This is just after we returned home "our" trip to the ER, for jaundice (someone check the spelling for me) where we spent 3 lovely days there. He was in the NICU under the lights and I was back in L&D for an infection. It was a miserable time, but we made it!!

Meritorious Conduct Award, more crafting, and other decisions..

Let start off with the best and least confusing news. Last Sunday, my husband was beginning his shift (he's a cop, watch out people he likes to write tickets. lol) A call came in and Fire/Rescue Squad was short a medic. Because he had a little prior knowledge of EMT stuff (being a combat medic/EMT for 20 years in the US Army counts as a little right?) he offered to ride along the call. So, he hopped on the fire truck and off they went. They all tried very hard, but sadly, the man did not make it.  
Ok, the good part (and not to make light of a death but) first, he got to ride the fire truck. That in of itself is super cool (at least that's what I am told.) Secondly, his department put him up for a "Meritorious Conduct Award." We are all very proud of his willingness to respond to a call for help.

Ok, next agenda item.. more crafting.
Sorry I haven't done much. I made a skirt out of medical (army green) gauze and an old bed sheet. It isn't much but I thought it was cute. It took forever sewing all those strips of gauze on. Ugh. And sadly, the skirt is too short for me to even wear!  Oh well chalk that one up to "You live you learn."


And now other decisions I've made this past week or so... in random order...
1. I still don't know what I want to do with college.
2. Spiderman bites. He just bites!
3. I love our hometeacher. He gave us a window A/C unit for our playroom which has no venting at all. And it is working so good!! THANK YOU BROTHER SIZEMORE!!
4. And I am old. I went to the beach last week, and those obnoxious college kids were there, ruining the quiet solitude of the calming ocean waves and mucking up the second dump line.. and just plain old wrecking my beach's awesome quietness. I hate spring break. Yuck.
5. I was recently called to serve as the 2nd counselor in our ward Relief Society Presidency. Which is going to be tough as I am not as outgoing as I once was and just don't know what the sisters really need. So. This is going to be a challenge-but I've decided to put my all into it.
6. And when family history is concerned, I've decided to focus on my Dad's line. Techincally, he is my stepdad, but he really is my dad, my best friend and the one person who has really known me the longest. This should be quite the journey.

I think that is all I've decided this week or so. Kody got sick this past weekend, and yesterday I took her to the ER, she's got strep. Yay me. 

thinking & thinking...
Michelle