P-p-p-p-p-p-p-projects

Shhhh...don't tell Justin but I may be in over my head with the projects I've taken on.  I snagged this wooden captain's bed with mattress for $35 last week to replace M's broken particle board one that we bought new almost a year ago.  I've actually already sanded, primed, and painted this bad boy but I'm going to attach the old ends of the kids' crib to be the headboard and foot board.  Sounds weird, I know but in my mind it will look awesome.  You'll just have to wait and see. 

I snagged this 3-piece old kids' kitchen set from the front yard of a person who was going to toss it.  I left them a note with my name and number on it and a day later I had inherited this laminate mess.  I've done a lot of work trying to assess whether it's worth my time (and money) to "refinish" it.  I'm hoping to keep the cost of re-doing it to under $25 (with the help of coupons from Michael's and Ace).  Quite a few pieces need to be replaced with plywood but with a recycling home store in town it shouldn't be too expensive, especially if I can learn how to use our neighbor's jigsaw and borrow a friend's circular saw.   

Not pictured are the new desk and chair for my sewing room.  And the dresser I'm taking the legs off of and turning into a dresser/window seat for our bedroom.  And all of the pear, apples, tomatoes, beets, etc. that I have to can.  But who's counting?  It's fall and this is the last hurrah before snuggling in to hibernate through winter. 

This apple didn't fall far

Parker has started imitating his dad...bike injuries may be genetic.  Unfortunately his helmet didn't have an attached face mask so P's lip and chin took the brunt of the impact.  In the bottom pic you can see that his front tooth didn't make it without some damage.  So glad that he's a trooper and things seem to be healing nicely (this happened Sunday evening).  

 

Bike accident

Tatts

We apparently have a tattoo artist in the making.  During their quiet time this week, Madeleine decided that Parker needed some ink.  He loved sporting it around the house and showing off his belly to the neighbors as they came home from work.  M took so much pride in her work that they did it all again the next day.  Crazy kids!

Preschool for two!

Madeleine and Parker had their first day of preschool today!  They'll be going half days on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays.  I'm excited we'll still be able to attend our Friday morning playgroup and it will be nice to ease our way into the school "week" by having Mondays together.  Both kids were very excited from the moment they woke up this morning and not a single tear was shed saying goodbye!  Such big kids.

A wrong equation

This

and this

equals

The great irony during canning season is that we rarely eat a homemade meal because all of my thought and energy is focused on preserving the foods that currently occupy the shelves and drawers in the fridge.  As of tonight, I have the following waiting for my attention: 1 head of green cabbage, 1 head of red cabbage, 5 large cucumbers, 1 gallon bag of sliced apricots, 1 qt. bag of gooseberries, 1 gallon bag of tomatillos, 4 pickling cucumbers, 4 zucchini, 1 qt. bag of shredded zucchini, 1 qt. bag of chopped cheddar cauliflower, 6 crookneck summer squash, and 1 gallon bag of beets.  On my kitchen counter there is a bin of apples, a bowl of tomatoes, the dehydrator currently drying apples, and 8 pints of canned German red cabbage are just starting to cool.  And Justin wonders why the laundry doesn't get put away!  I picked all of the produce in the above photos over the last two days and yet the kids ate mac and cheese for dinner tonight (J was out fishing until 10:30pm and ate leftover mac and cheese when he got home).  Granted, we do have leftover grilled eggplant, zucchini and squash in the fridge but it's buried underneath the cucumbers, I think.  The tops of the cupboards are starting to fill up with beautifully colored jars of raspberry jam, apricot syrup, and brandied cherries.  If all goes according to plan, I should have almost every color of the rainbow represented by the end of canning season.  Of course, we may also have a garbage can full of empty McDonald's cartons.

Fire in the hole

I currently have 16 half-pint jars of apricot syrup cooling on my counter but a few hours ago I had a small kitchen fire blazing in one of my drip pans.  Darn me for trying to double a recipe in a not-quite-big-enough pot!  Fortunately Justin kept his cool and turned the burner off while I was delicately balancing the still full pot of apricot syrup on the edge of the oven while trying to not get burned by the bubbling water bath next to me.  My response to the fire was to keep blowing it out whenever it flared up, all while digging through my cupboard for my baking soda.  I knew the fire extinguisher was under the sink but again, I wasn't about to let my picking/pitting/cooking go to waste.  Smart man that he is, Justin realized I was panicking and coolly turned the dial off.  He's awfully handy to have around in moments like this! 

I'm still pretty amped up by the apricot adventure.  I failed to add that I attempted this new canning recipe during the evening of one of the hottest days we've had this summer.  And there's a new forest fire that's close enough to add the smell of smoke in the air.  At least the house already smelled smokey when my fire started :)  So I'm sitting here late at night trying to calm down, cool the house off, and care for Mr. P who has a bad cold.  I think colds in summer should be illegal.  Not to mention it's almost impossible to hear his cries for help above the roaring fans we have in the windows.  I just can't win tonight.

This already sleepless night lends itself to helping me catch up on those elusive photos I keep bragging about.  JoAnn and George came for a full week about two weeks ago and at the end of every day we were wiped out!  The kids went to bed late and it felt like we were constantly on the go.  We had a lot of fun adventures with them in spite of not covering our whole to-do list.  Maybe next time!

Photo overkill

I have a gazillion photos to post.  I really do.  Justin's mom and her husband were here for a week and we did it all: raspberry picking, the rodeo and fair, fishing at Georgetown Lake, gem mining, playground fun, the market, everything!  And I have photos to prove it.  BUT I've run out of room to add images to Picasa to post them here.  Any suggestions?  I think it may be time to move my non-blog photos over to the external hard drive to see if that helps but it seems like a headache to save each picture individually.  Does anyone know a faster way to do it?  I'm hoping you do.  Help a girl out so you can delight in some awesome photos of Madeleine in her Christmas dress sitting on the ground trying to confine 20 worms in her hands.  Seriously, you're gonna want to see these!

Cline-isms

Things recently heard around our house:
1.  Parker just flushed his toothbrush down the potty!
2.  If you stand there you're crotch will get soaked.
3.  Don't pull his leg off!
4.  Brush the dirt off before you put it in your mouth.
5.  Did he just eat the stem and all?
6.  If you try to chase it you'll probably get stung!
7.  It's okay Daddy, you can say a bad word.

Ahoy matey

The only time I've remembered to take a picture of P's new captains bed is when he was at preschool so forgive me that you don't see his cute mug snuggled somewhere inside that transportation bedspread which I snagged at goodwill a few months ago.  I'm starting to feel some guilt about not doing a better job at personalizing the kids' rooms.  M has said for over a year that she wants to paint her room purple (not my favorite but it's also not my room) but we wanted to get new windows in (done) and replace their old carpets (not done) before painting.  Now I'm starting to think it's time to just buy some stinking paint and go to town while it's nice enough to leave the windows open to get rid of the stinky paint smell.  I got crafty with a few pictures in P's room (you can't see them in the photos) and I want to do some more.  I've bookmarked hundreds of inexpensive crafty decor ideas that I want to do for M as well.  I'm sure that I'll get it done...before they turn 18.

Adios crib

We've been really lucky that Parker hadn't yet decided to start climbing out of his crib.  He's been tall enough to do so for almost a year but the urge hadn't hit...until tonight.  I've put him back in bed 3 times and I think I just heard him climb out again.  We have been dreading this day to a certain degree.  For the first two years of his life, Parker was a horrible sleeper.  When he started sleeping through the night consistently a little before Christmas last year, we began to remember what it was like to feel rested.  We suddenly had energy that we thought had escaped us permanently.  We actually started to feel our age instead of 10 years older than we really were.  But this new change was inevitable.  Parker has grasped this idea of change and is running full-force towards the end zone.  He's completely potty trained (all within a few weeks), can ride a bike, goes to preschool, and now wants to be the decider of his own night-time destiny.  I totally get it; I just hope we transition through this phase quickly because sleep and I've become pretty close and I'm not going to give it up without a fight (which probably means I'll end up sleeping in bed with him, whether he's sleeping or not).  I guess I'll add shopping for a twin bed to my errand list for tomorrow.

Update: I snagged an awesome wood captain's bed off Craigslist Friday afternoon for $60!  It not only came with a mattress (which needs to be replaced but will hold for a month or so) but the woman delivered it to the house!  I took the crib apart and put the bed together and P successfully slept in it that night.  Then we went camping Saturday night and he slept in it Sunday night with no problem.  Last night was a different beast (up for over 2 hours leading him back to bed from 10:45pm to 1am) but he's getting the hang of it.  Pictures to come.

Mid-summer

It's hard to believe it's already the middle of summer.  Or at least it's supposed to be.  I've decided to officially include June as one of our months of spring so I won't be disappointed next year when it doesn't get over 60 before the solstice.  Nevertheless, despite the cool and wet spring and summer we've had, the garden is flourishing as is our family.  I can barely make the kids eat breakfast and change out of pajamas before they're running out the door to play outside.  Four outfit changes and three applications of sunscreen and bug spray later, we are usually eating dinner outside, exhausted and sun-kissed (I don't ever let the kids get burned...however, there is that one spot on my back that is really hard to reach...)  We've managed to go camping twice and have a few more outings planned.  Our great friends the Tippens spent 8 days of their summer vacation hanging out with us.  It was a fabulous way for us to have a staycation!  We couldn't imagine a way it could have been better!  My dad was also able to sneak out for a quick mountain getaway.  Besides running the Missoula half-marathon (my dad finished first in his age group...the kids/J/I all slept in and cheered him on in our dreams), we snuck in a kid-paced hike up Waterworks Hill, fishing at Rock Creek, downtown shopping, and lots of great food.  We have about a month break before our next round of guests arrive at the end of August.  I hope to make the most of these next few weeks to help solidify Parker's potty training (he's diaper-free when awake with only the occasional accident) and to get some back-to-school sewing done with the hopes that the kids don't grow too much before school starts in September.  I still haven't downloaded our camera's software yet but plan to do so while Justin's at a work retreat this weekend.  Then you'll have some proof of our unending fun!

Quick update: I can't help but brag that Parker just figured out how to ride a 2-wheel bike this evening!  Tricycles are headed to Craigslist and I've put out a request on Freecycle for another 12" bike because changing the seat height on the one bike we have for each kids has already gotten old :)  My little P is getting so grown up!

Hiatus (official)

We're going offline for a period of time while we figure out a solution to our computer woes.  If you need or want to reach us, it will be easiest to give us a good ol' phone call or swing by. 

Holding Pattern

Our computer gave us the black screen of death 2 weeks ago so we've been making do since then.  Fortunately, for $245 some computer guys were able to save most of our files and put them on our new $90 1TB external hard drive.  We're currently using a netbook that I hastily purchased from wally world to get us by but I'm not very thrilled with it.  Going from a full-size laptop to this tiny thing has it's advantages, I'm sure, but I'm thinking it's not for us.  All that to say that for now we won't be posting any new pictures or videos (even though I have an amazing one of U2 from our trip to Seattle last weekend) until we're sure of our permanent computer situation. 

To top it off, this is a busy time of year for us.  Justin's got a couple of work-related trips planned, our friends the Tippens are coming for a week at the end of June, a visit from my dad in July, another visit from the in-laws in August, not to mention our Seattle trip last weekend!  BTW, we would like to give my mom a HUGE THANK YOU for watching the Cline creatures (the two little humans and two furry ones) while we were gone.  Everyone survived, although Drake did try to rehome himself twice.  Sorry about that again mom!  We still have a little space left at the end of August for anyone else who finds the time to make it out West.  The waters should recede by then and we'll be out fishing as much as possible if you're interested.  Then it will be September and both kids go to preschool!  When I put it that way I almost don't know if I'm looking more forward to summer or fall :)  Here's to sunny days, sweeping the clouds away!

and CUT!

"You're being annoying Mom" said Madeleine as I pestered her to let me take a picture of the "makeup" (mud) she and a friend put on her face at school while playing outside.



Haircut season finally hit last week. 





I couldn't take the outta control curls and waves that kept finding their way into Madeleine's food and mouth.  I had a vision for what I wanted to do with the scissors so every few days I'd snip a little more here and there.  The final result has made life much easier: fewer tangles, no dips into her morning yogurt, and she managed to not get throw up in it last weekend when she was sick (oh the simple joys). 

Parker hasn't been as willing to sit still so his cut is still in progress.  At least we can now see his ears, eyes, and neck.  Hiding under all of their hair both kids apparently have Justin's neck.  Who knew?



Survival

It's time for a beer.  M's been sick since she started puking Wednesday night and although P's high fever broke yesterday, his sour mood persists.  He's currently yelling for Justin from his crib (supposed to be napping) despite the fact that I've told him numerous times that Daddy is on a bike ride (the truth, I swear).  M desperately needs a nap too but thus far she's been fighting it in her room during quiet time with tears and wailing.  I've been up since 6:30 this morning (thanks Parker) and have managed to not seriously injure or maim anyone so now that it's 4pm, I'm going to celebrate this major accomplishment with a cold one.  So much for losing weight this summer...I'll just try to save my sanity.

(I do love my children; I just wish they didn't get sick and tired and whiny and ornery and stubborn all at the same time when I've only had 5 hours of sleep and one cup of coffee.)

spring, Montana style

I promise to post about Madeleine and Justin's birthdays but I couldn't pass up the chance to show you the fun I had with the kids at the end of last week. Although we're currently experiencing cold, snow, and gray skies this week, last week was glorious. With one day even reaching 60, I was itching to get dirty. We broke out the shovels and got to work weeding and worming. Mads and I even managed to plant some seeds on Saturday before getting 2 inches of snow Sunday morning. Spring in Montana.

Wind. Powers the butterfly.

On a side note, Parker's decided to start potty training. Personally, I think it was his way to combat all of the attention Mads was getting for her birthday. I've been impressed with his interest (every day for the last 9 days) and lack of accidents (just 1). We haven't left the house without a diaper but inside he proudly wears his Lightening McQueen undies or goes without. He has embraced his twoishness which often comes out in challenging yet harmless ways. Like the afternoon he refused to wear pants or let me change his diaper while insisting on layering on a Hawaiian shirt. Like I said, harmless. And entertaining. And it's warm enough to tolerate. Spring.

Volcano cake

Over a month before her birthday, Madeleine told me she wanted a chocolate cate with chocolate buttercreme frosting to eat on her big day. Then the volcano fascination began shortly thereafter and I decided to try and combine the two interests. Here's what resulted.

This is a 3 cake mix creation: two layers of red velvet and one of chocolate. I cooked them all in the angel food cake pan (the red velvet together...almost overflowed the pan) and the chocolate by itself. Trimmed to look more like a volcano with the crumbs scattered at the bottom, I covered it in almost 8 cups of buttercreme frosting (Wilton recipe online) and added red and orange suger sprinkles along with dinosaurs for decoration. I placed a small cup inside the cake to hold dry ice. I was taking the cake to M's preschool for snack and wanted to add some special effects. After adding dry ice and pouring colored and thinned marshmellow fluff on top of it, I poured some boiling water in the cup to make the dry ice "smoke" and the fluff bubbled and overflowed down the sides. (Video to follow later) The kids ooohhed and aaaahhhed much to my delight. Did I mention that I made this cake the night after I had my wisdom teeth pulled? Gotta admit, I felt a bit like supermom :)

Kids

There are days when I can't quite get enough of these two.

Mads had a great birthday (thanks for asking!) and I'll be posting pics of it soon as soon as I can steal some from my dad. (Hey Papa, can you please hurry and post them to Picasa? People wanna see some birthday fun! Thanks :)

Loaded

My dad took this picture of Justin and me right after I got home from having my wisdom teeth out last Thursday. Flattering, right? It may just grace the front of this year's Christmas card (as if I actually send out Christmas cards...)

Healing

Quick update...
Justin's surgery on Tuesday was very successful. The surgeon found more damage to the labrum than the MRI had shown and was impressed that Justin had lasted this long with such a weak shoulder. He sewed up the 3 spots that were torn and then found another tear in his bicep muscle and repaired that as well. The block they had given him wore off this afternoon and he's been in a lot more pain but we're managing it the best we can with ice and medication. Thanks for your thoughts and prayers during this!
My parents made it to town this evening. The kids showed off their silliness and have already made plans for what they're going to do with Papa and Mimi tomorrow. Which is good because my mom will be taking me to the oral surgeon tomorrow morning to have my wisdom teeth pulled. The sooner I get it over the happier I'll be (I've never even had an IV before...not too thrilled about any type of surgery for myself). My parents will have their hands full tomorrow handling all 4 of us but hopefully I'll be ready to swing into action on Friday when I'm supposed to bring a smoking volcano birthday cake to school for Mads' birthday. We'll see how that goes...I'll post pictures (fingers crossed).

Turning a corner

Winter has finally loosened it's grip on Missoula. We've had seasonal temps in the 40s and spring-like sunshine for at least a few hours every day over the past two weeks. Parker's playgroup played outside for the first time this week since last October. The boys ran around aimlessly, simply excited to be free. Last Sunday, while Justin was at an all-weekend training, the kids and I explored the snow covered back yard in snow boots and sweatshirts. Our cul-de-sac is ready for tricycles and scooters instead of sleds. Hope is in the air.

March is our month to transition from winter to spring. We're maximising the not-quite-warm-enough weather to get some necessary medical stuff done. Justin will have shoulder surgery next Tuesday and I get my wisdom teeth pulled on Thursday. My parents arrive on Wednesday and will be our support staff during the week. We'll celebrate Madeleine's birthday on Friday at preschool with a volcano cake (her latest fascination). I had hoped to have a friend/family party for her on Saturday but logic has won me over and I've decided to postpone it until the next weekend when we can have a joint Madeleine/Justin party (he's turning 30 on the 29th of March). Before we know it April will be here, Justin's arm will be out of a sling, and we'll have a 4-year old ruling the roost! Bring it on sun...we're ready!

The List

Last weekend I asked Madeleine what she wanted for her birthday (less than a month away!) and here's what she said, in order.

1. purple fan
2. purple heater
3. purple rocketship jammies
4. birthday card
5. blanket: green with brown polka dots
6. a Santa Claus movie
7. toy dog that makes sounds
8. purple mack truck
9. brown dress
10. a Santa Claus book
11. green towel
12. long-sleeve shirt, yellow with white sparkles
13. purple pony stuffed animal
14. shark towel

All of this was new to me. What's up with all the purple and polka dots?!? I know she's obsessed with Santa because she was old enough at Christmas to comprehend how cool Santa is. I'm hoping she'll be satisfied with the carousel t-shirt and Emily train (from Thomas the Train). She has also asked for "chocolate cake with chocolate buttercreme icing" using those exact words. I can definitely do that. What a funny kid!

The sound of silence

I covet silence. More often than not it's loud around here but on the rare day both kids will nap and I will have the house to myself. Today I'm enjoying a cup of sweet dreams tea with honey to soothe my sore throat while looking up dress tutorials for Madeleine. I've started one dress that I hope to finish tonight. Lately she's been obsessed with layering a summery dress over her long-sleeve shirts and jeans so I thought it'd be nice to give her a few more options. Her favorite dresses have polka dots but I'm low on dot cloth so flowers will have to suffice until I make it to JoAnn Fabrics.

Like my cup? Picked it up at Goodwill the other day. It is a nice reminder of the summer weather that seems so far away on a snowy day like today.

I'm looking forward to having some other photos to share by the end of the weekend. Mads has been at a creative standstill so I'm hoping to spark some new ideas by giving her the camera to document what does (or doesn't) happen around here. We'll try to make the best of the last 3-day weekend before the long stretch until Memorial Day. Justin will probably have a couple days off between now and then since he needs shoulder surgery. He has a torn something-or-other that can't heal with just physical therapy so we're trying to schedule things to make sure he will be healed in time for hunting season. It's unfortunate that he won't be able to complete any triathlons this summer but in the long run it will be good to get this procedure done so he can compete in the future.

My silent afternoon is fading away so I'm off to drink one last hot cup of tea before chaos ensues.

A bittersweet day

http://theclineadventure.blogspot.com/2010/02/goodbye-maggie.html
I have to get going because Drake's making me play with him and Parker's asking me to stop crying. I hope you each have a love, present or past, that you can honor today.

IRS

While in San Diego last month, the IRS mailed us a letter explaining they were reviewing part of our 2008 tax return. After my stomach did it's initial flip (making a mistake on taxes is one of my biggest fears), I was relieved to read that they were just reviewing our first time home buyer tax credit. Today I finally had time to dig through all of that home-buying paperwork to find and copy all of the documents they want while the kids napped (still recovering from pink eye/a virus that put Mads on antibiotics). I think the IRS and I have another date tentatively scheduled for later this month when we'll head down to a coffee shop to meet with Mr. Turbo Tax. Instead of being the month of love, for me February is the month of paper: finding it, filing it, shredding it. I suppose some love is involved because when it's all said and done, I do love how nice my file drawer looks and the extra pocket change we usually get.

Quarantined

I had thought I'd be cooking up a storm today, preparing for a big Super Bowl party. Instead, I'm staying as quiet as a mouse to ensure the kids get good naps. You see, they both have pink eye, runny noses, a bad cough, and low-grade fevers so we had to cancel our big celebration. We've spent the entire weekend watching Curious George, Thomas the Train, basketball and today football. I'm slowly trying to teach the kids how sick days work around here: couch potato/tv zombie (it's much easier on mom). Fortunately, they napped really well yesterday so I was able to use that time to make them new Steelers gear that they're sporting today.

(that's chalk on P's shirt and yes, it's "fitted." I think I made it just big enough for him to wear it today without out-growing it but I'll have to make a new one for next season.)

I would have put #43 for Polamalu but 7 was easier to freehand cut and applique...plus, Roethlisberger is a great quarterback so we're fans.

Time to go cook some chili. Go Steelers!

Why isn't there anything new?

It's ironic...I keep checking my own blog to see if I've posted, as if I do it in my sleep or something. That's about the only time I could do it these days. We're all constantly moving, taking advantage of all of the ways to be active and social. Whether we're at the Y and the kids are in childcare (and loving it!) or at the children's museum, carousel, train at the mall, a local gymnastics facility, playgroup, playground, friends' houses, etc., we're a moving and grooving fam trying to survive winter. We got hit with the preschool ick this week so we slowed down a bit but speed will pick up quickly as we prepare for Super Bowl Sunday :) We're hoping to have a few friends over to watch the Packers go down in flames. Go Steelers!

San Diego heaven

Carol and I had an unbelievable trip to San Diego this past weekend. We indulged in every way conceivable: great hotel, delicious food, fabulous sights, even early bedtimes :) It was so good that we're already trying to figure out when and where we can do it again! Every mom deserves a chance like this...thanks Justin and Jeremy! We couldn't ask for better husbands.

Oh dear San Diego

My long-awaited trip to San Diego with Carol happened the end of last week. I made it home late Sunday night and downloaded all of the awesome photos and videos last night. I'll be posting more about the fabulous time with the greatest friend in the universe later tonight!