Bath Mat DIY

Have you ever checked out the helpful how-to videos over at the ThreadBanger blog and website? I've been a fan for quite a while but now I think I need to spread some ThreadBanger love. Over at their site you can find this video about how to recycle your old bath towels into a great bath mat (perfect for the family bathrooms that get a lot of traffic). That way, you don't have to feel bad about keeping old towels (I know you have a yen for those Egyptian cotton towels from the Martha Stewart collection at Macy's), or just throwing them away. This might also be a great way to make a cute rug for a kids room if you have a ton of extra baby blankets (I know we do!).



Okay, two posts in one day! I'm definitely on the path now...

Success ... Maybe Not.

"Learning is not attained by chance, it must be sought for with ardor and attended to with diligence." - Abigail Adams

Abigail had five children (gave birth to six). Do you think that she could be talking about potty training in the above quote? Possibly. Well, it went so well on Tuesday morning before Chandler's nap. He loved sitting on the potty, he loved his new big boy underwear:


He was so excited about going on the potty and kept talking about how he "made yellow on the potty" and we danced and sang. And that was it.

After his nap, it was like a whole new boy! The next couple of times he went in his underwear and he absolutely refused to go sit on the potty. He would back away from me and just ask to be changed. Hm.

So, I had to take him back to daycare so I could get in some work yesterday and his teacher (God bless that woman!) said that every time she took him potty, he was already wet and it didn't seem to bother him that he was soaked or soiled. They ran out of underwear yesterday (all six pairs!) and ended up putting a diaper back on him at the end of the day.

My M.O.M. radar senses that Chandler may not totally be ready to make the huge jump to regular underwear and total potty time, but maybe we should keep the diaper and just go to the potty as well. Darn! I was ready to be done with the diapers. I know you should never push a child to go potty though. So, I won't. But we'll keep the potty downstairs as a reminder to Channy and ourselves and we'll try to go often and make it fun. I supposed that if we lived in the country, we could just run around outside all the time and fertilize the grass and no one would care. At least, I wouldn't. But we live in town and go to a public park to run around.

Another good thing about Tuesday was that I was able to finish some WIPs. I guess now they are FOs. I put the faces on my lion washcloths and they are ready to be used by the little people they are going to be given to. One lion is pretty happy, he must have just eaten, can't you tell by the smug look on his face? The other lion seems to be donning a grim look. Could it be he is thinking about the possibility of having his lathered-up face plunged into a dirty armpit at some point in the future? It's hard to tell.


And what does a Mom do with some extra time on her hands? Does she sleep? Take a bath? Exercise? Read a book? Well, I could have done all of those things yesterday when I found myself with a little extra time. But no, I decided to tackle this:


I don't think that it was a very good idea since I only had about a half an hour to spare, but it has been bothering me for about 8 months now. My children's closet is full of clothes that are way too small. Plastic hangers are strewn all over the floor and boxes and bags that go to who-knows-what are stuffed into the nether regions waiting for the day that I put whatever it was that belongs to it back in the box or bag. Know what I mean? So, after a very intense 45 minutes (I know, I went overtime), the closet looked like this:


I also washed and put the soft bumper back in Channy's bed since he has taken to cramming his head into the corners at night:


I finally put a breathable bumper on Ava's bed because she rolls around like crazy in her sleep and is always getting a foot stuck in between the bars:



Whew! Are you tired just looking at that? I can tell you I was sweating by the time I was finished. So, I guess I did get that workout after all.

Oh, it's the end of the middle of the week and procrastinator that I am, I am yet again doing the Mid-Week Lift on a Thursday. So, here's your lift. I hope it puts a smile on your face!



Chicago-style pizzas headed to troops in Iraq













Wed Jun 25, 6:43 AM ET

ELK GROVE VILLAGE, Ill. - Retired Air Force Sgt. Mark Evans wanted to send a taste of Chicago to troops in Afghanistan and Iraq.
ADVERTISEMENT

So he's doing it deep-dish pizza-style.

The Elk Grove Village man has arranged for thousands of pizzas to be frozen, packed in dry ice and shipped to the Middle East in time for the Fourth of July. His 16-year-old son, Kent, came up with the idea.

"I think it's good for them. They're in too good of shape," he joked.

Evans said DHL Global has volunteered to ship the pizzas that Lou Malnati's Pizzeria offered at a special rate. He hopes to get as many as 3,000 pizzas to the troops with the "Pizzas 4 Patriots" program.

"It's saying 'here's a taste of home,'" Lou Malnati's spokeswoman Mindy Kaplan said.

But Kaplan suspects there might be some soldiers who won't feel that way.

"Maybe New Yorkers won't like it so much," Kaplan said.

Copyright © 2008 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

*************************

Have a great week and stay on that path!

Success!

At 12:30 PM today we finally did a pee on the potty! Chandler was very surprised and very proud of himself. Unfortunately, that was the ONLY successful potty stop thus far. Without warning he really did a number in his pants, but luckily, we were outside pulling weeds when it happened. Nothing wrong with watering the grass, right?

Keepin' on, keepin' on...

Potty Boot Camp

Today is potty training day! Wish me luck everyone, when I get Chandler up this morning we are going to put on his training underpants and hit the potty. I am prepared with many backup pants and shorts along with a mop and the Swiffer Wet-Jet! I will keep you posted...

On the path.

Another Departure = Another Bag

It's that time again, unfortunately, when another beloved teacher is graduating college and leaving our child care center. This time it's Ms. Jessie and we are so sad to see her go. She is graduating this fall and is leaving in a week to do her student teaching in Hawaii. I mean, who wants to go there when you can change dirty diapers all day?

Ms. Jessie has been at the center over two years so that means she has cared for Chandler and Ava both and has been able to cheer them on through all their milestones, kiss away tears, sing songs, and give plenty of love and attention to our babies. And, as I am sort of making it a tradition now, I have made her a goodbye bag.


Since I made this design up, it's going to be called "Mahalo, Jessie." The Mahalo, Jessie bag is pretty darn simple, with a loop for the wrist, a zipper and one small interior pocket. This will be the perfect accessory to take to class or to the beach, no?


Good luck Jessie, we were fortunate to have you in our children's lives and I guess we'll share you with the rest of the world now.

Stay on the path...

Better Get to Livin'

What better way to celebrate the Mid-Week Lift than with Dolly Parton? I stumbled upon this great video over at the Hygge House blog. It's Alex's new theme song for her manifesto and I think I'd like it to be my theme song too!

Better Get to Livin'

With that, I'm off to live! I just spent the rest of my birthday money on fabric and it's currently in the wash ... hurrah!

Stay on that path!

Father's Day and Thoughts

So, I realized that on Father's Day weekend, I was the one relaxing! Sorry, honey. Actually, we spent a lovely weekend at my parents' home spending a lot of time with family. Cornhole (or Bags, depending upon where you are from) was played, we grilled out, and the kids ran about 80 footraces across the lawn.


Don't let these relaxing images fool you. I am back and had to, once again, crawl back underneath my pile of work. As I incubate here, I will still try to find some time to get to work on my WIPs - lest they become UFOs. We wouldn't want that.

I hope you had a great weekend and a Happy Father's day. Dads are great, aren't they?

On the path...

Playing Catch-Up

Like I said, I refuse to let my various projects get the best of me. Even though I am buried under work and housework, I have found a few moments to whip out some of my WIPs. So, this photo-heavy post should be a good update on what's been going on in my crazy house lately.

Still working on finishing that Debbie Bliss Picot Dress. I just started the arm strap and hope to really get some knitting done on it in the coming weeks. Keep in mind, this is the very same book that the ill-fated toddler hoodie came from. I hope the dress will turn out much better.



These little guys came from this pattern and I highly recommend you knitters out there to try it. Once I figured out the loop stitch, it was such a breeze. I've already knitted three and need to finish these. They just need their loops attached and some lion faces stitched on.


My garden almost bit the dust (or rather drowned) last weekend during the strong thunderstorms. There were a few tornadoes that touched down in our area but none came by our house thank goodness. We did spend a few moments getting comfy in our basement on Sunday evening though. Surprisingly, my deck garden survived and the plants are no worse for wear. There were a few twigs sticking upright in the soil, but other than that, they seem pretty happy.


I have planted some herbs, tomatoes, various peppers and some lovely sugar snap peas that are growing like crazy. I am excited to say that I have some beginnings of peppers growing already and a few flowers on my pea vine. I know, it's Michigan though, so we need a little extra time. This girl's garden is really in full swing.




Finally, an FO. A Finished Object. Yes, I did finish something in these past few weeks and I'm glad to say, it turned out great (unlike my quilt top). This is Ava's dedication dress - a little rumpled from wearing it on Sunday. It's a simple, reversible smock and I'm proud to share it:











On the path...

Apologies

I must apologize for the apparent blog schizophrenia that's been going on lately. I'm just trying on new bloggy outfits until I find the right one. All of you are in the dressing room with me. How does this one fit?

I think I'm getting closer to the right layout. Thanks for hanging in there with me.

Back on the path...

Another Mid-Week Lift

It seems like I only get to my Mid-Week Lifts nowadays, doesn't it? I have been so busy with work that I have WIPs laying everywhere around my house. I am DETERMINED that they will not turn into UFOs. No. They. Will. Not. I will share them with you in a later post.

Well, on to the Lift. How cool is this lady?

By Associated Press
Updated: 6/5/2008

NEW YORK

Sandra Day O'Connor is developing a free interactive Web program for middle schoolers on the U.S. court system.


The program will be called Our Courts and allow students to participate in realistic government simulations and investigate and argue actual cases.

Arizona State and Georgetown universities are helping the retired Supreme Court justice develop the program.

Arizona State professor James Paul Gee says the program will teach children the importance of free and independent courts in a democracy.

The Web site will be launched this fall.

O'Connor is the first woman to have served on the nation's highest court.

———

On the Net:

Our Courts: http://www.ourcourts.org/

Copyright 2008 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

• • • • • • • • • • • •

I mean, how cool is that? Sandra is still being innovative and on top of technology. She's using it to promote learning and really tapping into the culture of today's youth. I want to be like that when I grow up.


Oh, and for you Wings fans, this is another Lift dedicated to my husband who has sacrificed sleep in order to follow the games:


(Gene J. Puskar/Associated Press)
In hand: Detroit captain Nicklas Lidstrom holds up the Stanley Cup after the Red Wings put away the Penguins in Game 6 Wednesday night.

I promise to take some time out to post more crafty bits!

Just sitting on the path...