marathon weekend

My marathon weekend was a race, of sorts, that didn't involve running on a path, maybe symbolically, but not physically (although I was very exhausted at the end).

Ok here goes ...

Friday - clean all the hardwood floors with a wet towel on my hands and knees
- wipe down all of our walls 3 times (first with Clorox on a towel, second with the Magic Eraser, third with water to get the first two off for safety)
- make three batches of cookies (with the kids helping which turned out not to be the best idea) I made sugar cookies and dyed the dough different Christmas colors, then cinnamon/glue/water dough for non-edible ornaments, then oatmeal/white chocolate/cranberry cookies
- picked up babysitters for rehearsal at the church and on the way smoke started coming into the car from the heater (that wasn't working so while I fiddled with it, it must have shorted out or broken b/c it smelled like rubber was burning) I had to pull over, air out the car (containing the three sisters all coming to babysit and my two little ones!!) Then I turned everything off and we kept going b/c the smoke stopped. I was impressed that the girls didn't even freak out, especially the one that had smoke streaming out at her feet.
- attended a successful rehearsal of my duet and solo for Sunday night's concert
- then we had to wait for the girls' mom to pick them up after work b/c I was too nervous to drive home with them, then Will came to drive with us
- at which time he let me know that the Navy gym on base was having a kids night and they had several moonwalk slides and jumpers etc. set up and activities, so we grabbed some fast food (as it had just started to snow and rain pretty heavily) and headed to the gym until 7 PM.

That had to be one of the longest days in a busy, good way! (well except for the car trouble, but fortunately it wasn't too serious).

Saturday - we had 7 families over from Will's class on base to meet them and their kids. I think we had about 10 or more kids running around. We were busy cleaning and preparing all morning and this is when I brought out the cinnamon ornaments for the kids to paint. Will made homemade kettle corn (which he is quickly becoming an expert at), and we tried dying it, but it didn't work too well. It was yummy though! We also had shrimp dip and chips and apple cider, that never quite heated up. :)
- after everyone left, I got ready to go to a cookie exchange at a friends house where I used the batch of oatmeal/white chocolate/cranberry cookies. It was a lot of fun and I brought home some yummy cookies for the family. :) We took it easy that night (I think)

Sunday - we had church in the morning (choir practice before and after the service)
- I got ready for the concert that night when we got home by cleaning, doing dishes, and icing all the sugar cookies.
- Then we had the choir concert, which of course I was nervous about, but the duet ("What Child is This?") and solo ("Silent Night" in German and English) went great and I got feedback that I pronounced all the German correctly by some native speakers who were there. Yay! I also hit all the high notes fine, but on the very last note of the song, I could quite come down low enough because I had been singing so high, so that note was a little sharp, but ok, I hope. :) I'll have to watch the recording b/c Will was there recording. We also brought to this, everyone loved the cookies (even though they got green dye all over them) and the babysitter watched the kids in the nursery the whole time. The kids did great even though they were up way past their bedtime. Will and I were exhausted and I don't think I've slept so soundly in awhile!

This was the busiest weekend we've had in awhile and I wasn't used to trying to keep everything straight and prepare for it, but I did fine and I think it's something that is only going to happen more often as the kids get older and we're able to get more involved in things. I was just glad I made the extra batches of cookies, even though I wasn't really preparing them on purpose at the time; the sugar cookies just sounded like a good idea, and the cinnamon ornaments are something we made and painted as kids that I happened to decide would be a good activity to slow the kids down at our party.

I think it was providence more than anything else, so Thank you Lord for helping me this weekend and helping me prepare for things before I even knew I needed to. He Blessed me at the concert to honor him with my singing, and best of all, He gave me a supportive husband to help me prepare and plan and get everything together so it would all happen, including many hours of watching the kids so I could rehearse after church or clean, or prepare. After all this, Will still made it to his Monday morning work out at 5:30!!! ugh Fortunately for me, the kids slept late so I got a full 8 hours of sleep! Now that's something to be thankful for!

Now I just have to catch up on laundry and dishes and errands, but I think we'll just try to have a slow day today, especially since it's oh so cold and wet outside.

Merry Christmas!!

apple picking

The next craft I undertook came from a "Country Home" magazine I picked up while I was waiting for a flight down to Baltimore. It was all about decorating with pumpkins and apples. One of the decorations was an apple garland, heavy, but pretty. :) So this past weekend, we went apple picking at the Rocky Brook orchard on Wapping Rd. here on Aquidneck Island. It turned out to be the perfect weekend for picking MacIntosh apples (according to the owner). The boys didn't quite get it, but we had fun and got a lot of apples. The owner even let me get two bags of cheaper apples that had fallen on the ground for my garland! I have a lot of baking to do this weekend so if you live close and want an apple pie, I'm making them in bulk when Will comes home this weekend. Anyway, I hung my garland above the door. You bore holes in the apples with bamboo skewers then put twine through them. It's holding well. I don't have colorful leaves to put on it yet, but I'm looking. I also made an apple wreath which I haven't glued together yet, but hopefully will finish this weekend as well.

Next, I want to carve pumpkins, but I'm afraid a bunch of pumpkins and the garland would be a little too much produce for one front door. The garland is supposed to only last about 2 weeks, so maybe I'll wait until then to go pumpkin picking on the island. :)

crafty finger

If you're good at growing things, you have a green thumb, but what if you get crafty for a little while? Do you have a sticky finger? (b/c of all the glue) or is that only for baking? Anyway, since Will's Aunt Donette came to visit this passed weekend, and Will's Mom was here a week before that, I've been able to pull a few projects together and thought I'd share.

First is a shelf for some wooden letters I've been painting (for years) of the boys' names. I didn't want to hang each one individually (that's like 25 holes in the wall), but all the shelves are much to wide for these 1/2" thick letters. So I had to come up with something else. (by the way, ledge shelves are really expensive at Micheal's) and I really needed just a ledge. So Will's Mom and I had the idea of putting a piece of pretty molding (for the wall) against a small, flat piece of wood (like a 1/2" x 3") and that would make the thickness I would need for the ledge. I glued them together, clamped them and then nailed them (just to be sure). :) Maybe it was overkill, but I don't want the glue coming apart in the humidity. Anyway, the next step is to stain them. I'm not even finished with the letters yet, but now all I have to do is hang the ledges (2 for each boy b/c I did their first and middle names) and then set the letters on them (high enough that the boys can't reach them of course). :)

Day to day

bonk, bonk, bonk, bonk, bonk, over and over and over again is the sound I've heard for nearly a week now as our back porch/deck is being rebuilt. It's really great that we're getting a new one (thanks for our landlord), but the banging, combined with the kids, is grinding on my sanity. Especially when the kids are trying to nap or I'm trying to nap or watch TV just to take a break, because I can't hear the TV or nap, or concentrate enough to read!! Good news though, I think they'll be done today. The workers have been very nice though. They always say hi back to Charley and Andrew, who have been enjoying having Bob the Builder in the backyard all week :)