The Monsters are Coming!!!!!!!

A few weeks ago, I needed a great baby shower gift idea for Tren's cousin's baby shower. I like to give gifts that aren't something straight off the list. So, in chatting with Annie she sent me a link to this blog she had been checking out and found the most amazingly funny-looking, fun, cute, PERFECT! gift.

Meet Frank:

Meet Ruth:

These little guys are made from socks! Oh do you love them!? I do! If you check out the blog Annie found these on, the girl named all of her monsters and gave them funny little details like "Ida has taken over my television, watching roller derby until all hours of the night and is constantly listening to Barry Manilow." Annie and I were dieing thinking up names for all these monsters we were dreaming up. As I was making these two for Laura, "Frank" and "Ruth" just fit. I was laughing as I made them. It was so fun and easy and you have this hilarious little creature in the end. I wasn't creative enough to come up with some "monster-ous" thing about them, so I just made a little tag with their name and then put "this monster was made just for you by Emmy" on the back.

Belle requested I make her one, too. She had to switch it up a bit and we added some hair out of tulle and a horn (from Frank's spare parts) on the top of it's head. She calls it Eddie (E.D.).

I think this will be a new baby gift from me!

Hannah

Around Christmas time (I know this is old) Belle was very into making her own Christmas cards for people. She would draw a picture or something and then tape a piece of candy to it and then fold it up and tape it shut. On Christmas Eve, when all the exchanging was done in our little family exchange, Belle was not ready to be done with the gift giving and receiving. So. She hauled to her bedroom and found the card she had made for Hannah (her step sister who is 8 I think?). She came out and gave it to Tren and told him she made it for him. I stopped her and said "I thought you made that for Hanna?" and she said "Ohhh noooo,... that was a different one... this is for Tren". So he proceeds to unwrap it and we are looking it over and can see "Hannah" sort of written on it there in the top right,... and then one other word.... Can you see it?

As funny as it is, Belle had told me a few days before, that Hannah had told her how to spell it. I told her not to repeat the spelling or say the word. So, instead she wrote it on Hannah's card, included a little chocolate and planned to pass it on. Instead, wrapped in the excitement of Christmas, she gave it to Tren. When we saw this word and asked her what it said the look on her face was priceless! You could see her read it and sound it out and then the "oh crap!" look on her face. She ran to her room and grabbed a marker and said "oh that was a mistake!" and scribbled it out. I love it!

There are much worse words out there she could be writing, right?

JEWELRY

As some of you may know, I LOVE big earrings and jewelry. The flashy-er and bigger, the better! I have quite a collection of big earrings. Love them! For nearly 4 years now, I've been asking Tren to make me something to hang them on so they aren't all piled up in my little square jewelry box. I finally came up with a design that would work for me and keep all my things sorted and in their own little area. I told Tren about my idea and he said it was going to be ugly (because of what I was going to use). He wanted to go out in the foothills and find some deer horns (?I know) and use that to hang roughly 75 pairs of earrings, 10+/- necklaces, and who knows how many bracelets! I was sticking to my plan because I knew it would be perfect for what I needed. ((If he happens to still make his "rack" I'll most certainly blog about it!))

So!

Things to get:

Peg board (I bought a 4' x 2' sheet of peg board that already had a nice white coat of primer on it)

8' long wood (to make a frame out of)

3 wooden dowels (small enough to fit in the holes on the peg board)

Spray Paint

I went home and spray painted my peg board. I took a picture of it, but I think I deleted it already. Then I cut my dowels into 2-inch pieces. This took forever! Then I sanded each end of each 2-inch piece. Perfect fit, though and I can move them from hole to hole, depending on what I want to hang and how big it is.

Lets be honest, I was scared to use the saw, so I had Tren cut out my frame pieces and then he nailed them to the peg board. Then I spray painted the frame and pegs. This took a few times to get all the pegs sprayed, and some of them still aren't completely covered.

Now, Tren was making a shelf for his cousin's baby shower and he got a router from Grandpa Brenner and was testing it out on a 2 x 4. I thought this was the coolest thing, because it gave the wood a fancier edge. So. I had him do it on the side of my frame. He started and did one long side and I nearly burst in to tears! I thought I was going to cry because it ruined my beautiful creation. I was so mad at myself for needing to fancy it up. So, Tren the problem solver, calmed me down and put a little edge/shelf thing to cover up the big ugly chunk that was missing. I figured I could drill some holes in the shelf and put some pegs in and use it for rings. So, we got that on, I spray painted it and then when it was dry last night, I sanded the edges down. We had measured a spot in our closet behind the door where this beauty would fit. But that was when I was only going to use 3' x 2' of it. Then for some reason I thought all 4' would fit. When we went to hang it we realized we had a problem. So, my only option was to have it going up and down versus left to right.

I had Belle help me organize my earrings and Tren hung it up. I have tons of earrings, folks. And most of them have some great memory behind them :) . And as I would hang each on its little peg, I would chuckle or sigh or want to throw them away. Some of them that were broken, I did. I also made a little baggy for Karin. Belle wanted to try all of them on. (One of these nights we'll def do that.) All of my earrings and necklaces and bracelets fit, with room to spare if needed. I love my new jewelry art. It is just what I needed. Its like a little store when I go to pick out what I'll wear for the day.

Since the paint I used had a shiney finish, my camera flash was reflecting off of it badly.
Without a flash you couldn't really see anything. These are the best pictures I got. Some are from my cell phone and some from the camera.

Tren even admitted it turned out pretty nice. I love it tons!

Helping out

Last night while Tren and I were getting dinner ready, I asked Belle to fold the clothes that were in the dryer. She kept coming to the kitchen and laughing about how small my underwear (thongs) would fold up. After about 20 mins and no word from Belle, I had completely forgotten I sent her in to fold clothes. We went searching for her and here is what was found:





She had folded my and Tren's clothes, just tossed her's on the floor, and started taking the ones in the washer and putting them in the dryer. She couldn't reach "one last sock" so she proceeded to get into the washer.

Tren and I were so wrapped up in making dinner we didn't notice her moving that chair around. Someday, I'll have a slightly larger laundry room so I can put a stool in there and some lower shelves so she can really get after doing the laundry for me! She was quite proud of her folding and she did do a great job. It's so nice to have even more help!

McCall Winter Carnival

This Sunday, we went up to McCall to enjoy some snow-filled sights! We didn't leave the house until about 1:30pm so we had a late start. Tren had shown Belle what we would be seeing, by going to the Winter Carnival website and showing her some pics of the snow sculptures. She was excited. We got in the car and Belle had brought along Daisy. She had secured her in her coat to keep her warm and I wanted to take a picutre, but Belle was in too good of a mood to let me do that.

On the way up, Belle was "blowing" her nose. Usually, this means she is picking and using the tissue to pick. Then she fell asleep.

We woke her up as we pulled into McCall and she was still in this lovely mood. We stopped at a sculpture of some bears and figured since she is a "bare" she would relate and want to get out and see them. Nope. So, Tren and I got out and she eventually followed. I posed in front of a castle and Tren posed with the bear. Belle not so much fun still...but she posed with a few things.

We went in for some free hot cocoa and to look at the craft fair. Then on the way out with her hot cocoa in hand Belle says "Well, I think I'm settled down now... let's go check out those bears!"

We continued on the main strip of McCall and stopped here and there to pose and examine the sculptures. It was snowing and had been snowing so most of them were covered in snow and it made it hard to see them. All the detailing was pretty much filled with snow, but they were still awesome. Belle wanted her picture taken with every one of them.

A log house at the lake....

Some Tee-Pees. (I am not sure how that is really spelled! ha!!)

An eagle...

Then we came across this couch...

...We all took the book and sat on the couch. It was funny.

We found 2 cowboys soaking in a hot tub, drinking some brews... Belle had to use their outhouse...

There were many more sculptures, but I can't put them all on here.

It was a good trip and we made it home in record time (8:30pm), considering it had been snowing all day. Everyone was heading down the mountain when we were heading up.

I have wanted to go to the Winter Carnival for a long time and was happy we finally had a weekend when we had Belle and we could all go together. I was also very happy Belle's mood went from bad to good because that would have been a long trip.

Future Nail Tech?

Last night I let Belle paint my toes... She has been wanting to paint her own for a while now, so I let her give mine a whirl.

First we started with a nice foot scrub in some delicious hot water. She got the bath going for me and everything, just like I do for her.

Then it was on to the painting. I put a towel down on the floor so we wouldn't get any polish on the floor and boy am I happy I did that!! I chose the red color.

She wasn't sure how to touch my toes or how to get them in the right position for her to paint them. It was so funny. She would paint my skin and say "Oh shoot, Momma! I messed up... I went outside the lines". I told her it was fine and that it would come off in the shower.

When she was done with the polish, it looked like my toes were all bleeding!

Then she ran into the bathroom and got some Q-tips to clean up the spots that were "out of the lines". Some of my toes were stuck together with polish. She would talk as she worked "... now I need to get this wet again... and then wipe that off from there... oh that's a messy toe... " I loved it and had a hard time fighting back the laughter.

Her little fingers, daint-ily touching my toes, was hysterical!

Then she wanted to do some fancy designs on my toes with the "art polish". These brushes are long and skinny and make great lines and things. I let her choose the colors and design. First she put a white line across every toe. Then a sparkley blue line (as seen below).

Finished toes. I'm ready for the 4th of July!

She was so proud of her work and I was too. It was a nice break from doing my own polish and doing hers.

Interview with Belle

I finally got around to asking the questions and weighing and measuring Miss Bellami!!

She is 45" tall and a whopping 40 pounds!

What is your name? Belle

What do you want to be when you grow up? a Cowgirl

What was the hardest thing you had to do today? Make snowflakes at school

What is your favorite thing? flowers What kind? daisy

What makes you happy? When I'm in my bed.

What is your favorite thing to do for fun? Play with the dogs.

What is your favorite thing about school? When we get to have lunch.

What is your least favorite thing about school? When we go to the rug, because we can't talk there.

How many brothers and sisters do you want? 3 sisters and 1 brother

Who is your hero? Bradley -he is the boy Belle is going to marry and he is the son of the sitter she goes to on school days-

What is your favorite food? bananas

What is your favorite day of the week? Sunday... cuz it's the weekend.

Who is your best friend? Grace and Lindsey from school

What is your favorite song? Life is a Highway -Chris LeDoux- and Twilight music

What is your favorite color? Pink and Purple

Do you have a lucky number? 2 What is a lucky number? I don't know.

What do you like most about me (Momma)? The way you let me sleep with you and how you are warm. (I liked asking this one because she always has the nicest things to say about me...)

Since school started, Belle has done a lot of "playing school". She will teach her dolls and stuffed animals. I have found many pieces of paper with their names on them, which means they did something bad and got their name on the board. She has been very much in to "projects" and drawing and cutting and glueing. She drew me a picture of a monkey and it looks VERY much like one.

When I got through her backpack from school lots of the papers, I would say 85% of them, have "Belle Mom Tren" written across the top on the name line. Or she will write "I (heart) Mom" down the side or just somewhere on the paper. It is very sweet, but probably not going to go over too well next year in First Grade.

She is doing great in school and learning to read and count and all the great things you learn. I just can't believe it still.

To see last year's interview... go here.

Sledding

A few weeks ago we went sledding with some friends up on the way to Dry Buck. We don't have snow-gear, so we borrowed snow pants, boots and gloves from our friends. Belle looked adorable in her snow pants.

Everyone heading up the hill to sled on down... (Belle is the second one in line)

Our sled was crappy on the hill. Here is Belle and Amber heading down the first time.

After discovering the sled was not a mover on the hill, Belle tried just going on the road. She loved this. She started learning to lean from side to side and eventually she would let go of one hand and give herself a push. She had a lot of fun sledding.



Good times, but I prefer the summer.

Jean Quilt

For Christmas this year I made Belle a jean quilt. I had big pictures in my head of what I wanted this baby to look like, and I must say, it is right on the money!

Annie and I had chatted about it and then I would chat with Mom about it and some to Holli about it, and then just made it happen. I wanted to do jean squares, but add the pizzazz that would compliment Belle's sassy style. I also wanted it to be something that can be used for many years, not just these next few while she's "little".

I bought yellow beads and ribbon and rick-rack and some yellow/gold colored tulle that had sparkles on it.

Then to patch holes we put silk behind the hole or yellow felt.

I bought a bumble bee iron on thing and buttons.

Pretty much anything yellow we could find and get on that quilt, we used. For the back, I used bright yellow fleece.

Belle was with me in the fabric store to pick out the extra "bling". She told me which bee she liked. She helped me pick out the beads and the ribbon. Then when I was at my mom's laying the squares out and figuring out where all the fancy-ness would go on what square, Belle was there, giving me her opinion. She kept asking who the quilt was for and I would just tell her it was a secret. Mom even said "I sure do like yellow things!" which made Belle think I was making it for her. It was funny. When she opened it Christmas Eve she said "Mommmmaaaaaa..... you tricked me!" It was great. She is taking very good care of the quilt and loves it. These pictures just don't it justice as I cannot put every precious little square on here. It was a fun quilt to make and I think she will enjoy it for a long time.

Thank you, Mom for helping me tie that monster!

B.I.N.G.O.!

Last Wed, Tren and I went to play Bingo at the senior center in Emmett. I drive by the place all the time and always see the advertisement " $499.50 jackpot , Wed/Thurs/Fri 6:30pm " and have been itching to try it out. I usually have Belle the only nights they play, so since she was at her dad's for Christmas still, we decided there wasn't a better time to go. We got there and all the doors on the front of the buidling were locked. We stood and looked in the window at all the seniors and they all just looked back. Finally, someone pointed to a door in the back, so we went around and went in. I have to admit, I was incredibly flustered. We got there at 6:25 and we knew we were holding everyone up. I was nervous and excited at the same time. One man explained how there are 10 games in each little booklet you buy and then there is the "butterfly" round where you can win more money than the regular 10 games. I bought 2 packs of the regular game (I think they were $2 or $2.50 each pack) and then 1 of the Butterfly ($1.00). Tren got 4 of the regular games and then 2 of the Butterfly. Then the man sent us over to buy our stamps/marker to mark our bingo squares. These say "Dabbin Fever" on them! I about died! Tren was the Teal and I used the Fuscia.

We went and found seats at one of the only available tables where two other ladies were sitting. We sat down and got settled in. The head-men did some figuring to see what the Butterfly winnings would be and then how much each game after that would be. The Butterfly was the first game played and I think the winning was $138. We did not win the Butterfly. (sniffle sniffle) On to our booklet of 10 Bingo games!! Each of these games had a winning pot of $27.75. Each game had different "bingo's". Since Tren was playing 4 cards at once, he was not able to talk back to me when I would talk to him. He had to stay focused. There really wasnt much talking at all, actually. Just a few "yesssss!" and "ughhhh" could be heard. When someone would call out "BINGO!" everyone else would sigh. It was so funny. We were on the "B N O" and that meant you had to get all your B's N's and O's to have the Bingo. Guess who won this one!? Tren did... and another player, so he had to split the pot with them. Then on to the Jackpot round where you can win $499.50! This was the black out round. They only call out 59 numbers in this round. When they get to the 57th number, they announce "57" and then if you still had 5 squares to get, you knew you weren't close to the jackpot. Well. They call out "57" and I have only 2 squares to fill! O.M.Gosh!! Im freaking out. They call the 58th number and it is one of mine. Holy crap!!! I'm REALLY freaking out now, and I keep elbowing Tren and he starts getting excited, too. They call the 59th number and it isn't one of mine. DANG! Then the bingo caller says "are there any good Bingo's?" and no one says anything. So they announce that they will continue on and the first blackout will be the regular winning amount of $27.75. I was so bummed, but also 1 bingo ball away from a black out. They call the 60th number and it wasn't mine. Then they call the 61st number and I got a blackout! I called out "BINGO!" and held up my hand and card and everyone sighed. HA! I won $27.75 and was 2 bingo balls away from $499.50. I'm officially hooked. This was so fun and easy and cheap. I can't wait to go again. Anyone else want to join me?!!