Naked-love Sandwich

Ben does not tolerate shirts with buttons on them. Simply refuses to wear them. Odd, I know. But Filipe's mom is visiting this week, and she wasn't aware of this particular quirk of his. So this morning, she got him dressed in a nice red striped polo. How she managed to get it over his head without him noticing the buttons is beyond me. But by this afternoon, the jig was up. He pulled down the collar in the front, got a good look, and scolded most fiercely, "No buttons!" He would not desist until the offending shirt was removed. Since it is pretty warm today, I took it off, and told him he could be a naked boy for the rest of the day. Who needs more laundry, right? Well, as soon as Sam saw the freedoms Benny was enjoying, he staged his own protest. So off his shirt came.

The key to this next part is that the boys are not frequently shirtless. Really, only when we go to the indoor pool at our gym.



Those bare-chested lads ran their hands over their milky white tummies, looked at their mirror images (each other) and giggled. They ran toward each other and gave eachother a nice bear hug, rubbing their shiney little bellies against eachother, giggling like schoolgirls the whole time.



Of course, by the time I grabbed my camera, Sofia wanted in on the action. So here we have our naked-love sandwich.

Cheapest Mama on the Planet

My kids have been begging for a pool. So I got them one.

Cradle Roll Memory Verse

TRANSLATION: "Children, obey your parents in everything."

I'm impressed with my younger self!

So in my quest to de-mite our bedroom, I donated my down comforter to Goodwill. And was left with a bare bed. I didn't really feel like spending money on a new cover, so I raided my closet to see what I could find.



I found Emily. Yes, this is Emily, as in Dickinson (I was always destined to be an English major). I made this quilt while I was in high school, I think. I decided I wanted to make a quilt, found a pattern, then thought, why make a twin size when I could make a King size? So make a King-size quilt I did.


As I pulled this out of the top shelf of the kids bathroom and laid it on my bed, I started really looking at it. And imagining what it would take for me to make something like this today. Man, I must have has some free time! And it amazes me that I was able to stick with the project. Granted, I sewed the top piece, then sent it to my grandma to bind and tie, but that was still a whole lotta sewing! And the pieces actually match up nicely.


So I want to thank my mom for helping me get started with that, my first (and maybe only) very large project. I vaguely remember going with her to choose the coordinating fabrics (is anyone surprised that I chose green? I didn't think so) and to explain how to piece it all together. Apparently, some of the lessons actually did take.

Where the battle begins

Over the last several years, Filipe has developed mild allergies. In spring and fall, he'll get a bit sniffly and sneezy, and we'll wonder if he's about to get sick. Well, this year, he really broke loose. Within the space of a week, he was nearly incapacitated. Sneezing, congestion, runny nose, itchy/watery eyes, the works. It got so bad he let me make an appointment with an allergist. He came home looking like he had endured an interview of torture. His back was covered with little welts where they tested him for what seems like every allergy known to man.




Our lucky boy came up positive for lots of seasonal allergies, and fun things like dust mites. Good times. He was prescribed an entire battery of meds, some of which are helping a bit. But he still has such a hard time overnight, I've started the Battle of the Mites in our room. I've stripped the bed, washed everything in hot water, I'm getting rid of my fluffy down comforter (sob!) and will get some mattress & pillow encasings.









I dusted, I vacuumed. I've laid our bedroom bare.









Watch out, dust mites. You don't mess with my man. This means war!

Some place hot just froze over.

I actually completed my first apparel project! I started this pair of pants quite some time ago, was interrupted when the boys woke up from their nap, and never seemed to finish it. So today, I finally finished them! They are a pair of pants/capris for Sofia, but you know how she is about photographs. So I got Sam to model them for me (don't worry, baby, I'm saving up for your therapy).

They are made of out a stripe corduroy that I love, and granted, it made the pants a little retro, but hey, you learn as you go. These pants have side pockets and an elastic waist. I'm so happy to have them done. No guarantees she'll ever wear them, but I tried. And I just might try again, given the proper inspiration from a visit to the Walmart material section.....

Government Canyon State Natural Area

Filipe and I made an executive decision to skip Camp Meeting this year and have a family nature day instead. We packed up the kids & a lunch, and headed off to Government Canyon State Natural Area. It was a beautiful day for a hike, nice and cool. It was a little muddy from the rains last night, but that made it even better in the boys' opinion. We watched for mountain lions along the way (the ranger had warned us about a sighting they had last week) and found all sorts of caterpillars, lizards, flowers, and ant hills. Good times. We also had a great picnic at the picnic pavilion. Next time we'll try to hit the Visitor's Center. The kids came home and hit the hay--right after a much-needed rain-shower!