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Friday, October 31, 2008

Happy Halloween!

Halloween is probably my least favorite holiday. I don't know what it is about it but it could be that it has no purpose. Anyone care to extol the virtues of Halloween for me in the comments?

In honor of Halloween, I left the kids with my mom this morning and went shopping. I bought myself a book and a hoodie. I also got some birthday presents for my brothers so I can give them to them when I go to their house tomorrow. I haven't had a popcorn ball yet.

I guess Halloween isn't all bad.

I forgot to mention that gas is $1.99 a gallon here. I'm sure loving that!

Thursday, October 30, 2008

Another Day

Here are some pictures from yesterday. As you can imagine, we've been pretty busy around here so my blogging is a little more sporadic.

Just one more picture of Caleb and the ducks.



Trunk or Treat was last night. The kids had a great time. Caleb was limping all day so I was a little worried about his foot. I had Alan check it to help me decide whether or not I should take him to the doctor. The advice was to give him ibuprofen and if he was still bad in a couple of days to take him to the doctor. Today he was much better. He still is limping a bit but not nearly as bad as yesterday.

Wednesday, October 29, 2008

Popcorn Balls


My mom bought a box of popcorn balls at the store yesterday. She told me the last time she bought a box she ate them all by herself in just a couple of days.

I am my mother's daughter.

They aren't gone yet but I'm certainly doing some damage.

Tuesday, October 28, 2008

The First 24 Hours

These pictures uploaded in the opposite order than I wanted. I'm too lazy to change them. Here are a few things we've done in the past 24 hours since we arrived at my mom's house.


Eva loves the horse swing. She will sit on it and wait for someone to come and push her. Lucky for her there are 4 adults (and Caleb) to choose from.


Caleb can't get enough of the ducks. He loves them. I don't know how much they love him.


Caleb chasing the ducks and wanting Gracie the dog to chase him back.

Eva took a bubble bath this morning.
Caleb got a ukulele as a souvenir from grandma and grandpa's trip to Hawaii last month. He's even more excited about the shell necklaces.

Eva put one of her extra shell necklaces on Peter the dog. She's been chasing him around non stop.

Poor Kenny! I know he was happy to see us. This is one of the cutest shots of him with his little pouty face. You can see his two little teeth popping out there at the bottom.

Not pictured: Lots of Wii playing, a trip to Wal Mart and Hancock Fabrics, and some awesome food like sourdough bread and pancakes, popcorn balls, and spaghetti w/ venison.

A Sign of the Times

Yesterday I loaded up the van with my two kids and our stuff to drive down to my mom's house in Oklahoma. Me. Alone. With the kids. In the car. 8 hours.

We survived.

In fact, we did more than survive. We thrived! The kids were great and the drive was relatively easy for me. I didn't get tired until the last hour.

I can't tell you how proud I am of these kids!

One more thing---Caleb pooped in the potty on his own. He didn't tell anyone he was going to do it and he just went. I am seriously in awe. My family is starting to feel "normal".

Monday, October 27, 2008

I Made it Myself-- Monogrammed Notecards




I've been making quite a few of these monogrammed notecards lately. I really love the look of them and they are super quick and easy!

This notecard is a has a top fold and is 4 1/4 X 5 1/2 so it will fit in an invitation size envelope.


All products used were from Stampin' UP.

Stamp set: Lovely Letters
Ink: Classic Basic Black
Paper: So Saffron, Basic Black, and Whisper White
Designer Paper: Designer Series Paper in So Saffron (what I used is no longer available but this has a very similar pattern)
Accessories: Scallop punch, 1 3/8" circle punch, 1 1/4" circle punch, black grosgrain ribbon, Scallop edge punch

These smaller notecards measure 3 X 3 and fit in the mini square envelopes.

I used most of the same materials but omitted the ribbon and the scallop edge punch. I substituted Rose Red papers.

I really enjoy making these monogrammed cards for quick, yet personal, gifts. My only question...which would you prefer to receive--your first initial or your last?

Care to participate in I Made it Myself this week? Read through the FAQs and then add your post below!

Sunday, October 26, 2008

Project 365

10/20/08


Riding the broom is so much fun!

10/21/08
Eva took her skirt off but left the tights on to go and play outside. Typical.

10/22/08


The day that will forever be known as the day Caleb FINALLY pooped in the potty. I'm sorry I keep bringing it up, but it has been such a major accomplishment for him! He hasn't had an accident since.


10/23/08
The only picture I took of the quilt I helped tie. We worked our fingers to the bone!


10/24/08
The only picture I got of Caleb at his school party before my camera batteries died. Aargh.


10/25/08

Crazy ladies in need of a time out.

10/26/08

My handsome son before church.

Saturday, October 25, 2008

Time Out!

I just spent 24 hours with a bunch of crazy ladies! We had such a great time going to Time Out for Women in Omaha.

Last night we went out to eat at P.F. Changs. Serious yum. I didn't take a before picture---but here is our after. Not a lot left! Plus, we had appetizers (on P.F. Chang's dime since we had reservations but still had to wait over 30 minutes).

Highlights of the evening:

Corinne, Mary Ann, and Tracy being paranoid that I was writing down blog fodder in my notebook. I was really just writing down color inspirations from Pottery Barn that I can use on my cards! I don't need to write down the stuff they did that was hilarious.

I didn't hear the whole sentence but what I did hear Corinne say was, "......i.e. Jack!". I love it when people use i.e. in sentences.

At P.F. Chang's we saw a guy run face first into the glass door. Yes, we laughed. He even left a nose mark! He was okay.

In the hotel Mary Ann said something and found something that I can't blog about. But, it was hilarious.

The hotel was nice but we had four people to a room with only double beds. I slept okay. Hope I didn't snore too loudly. ;)

The hotel gives out cookies before bed.

We got up and spent the day at the conference and it was so wonderful. The talks were great, I took some notes, cried a bit, bought a book, ate the best hamburger ever (the Maverick @ The Old Mattress Company Bar & Grill), got some knitting done.


Oh yeah, and everyone that was with us thought it would be funny to point at me when it was my camera's turn for the picture. Ha ha.

Thanks a lot.

Not long after this was taken, a blog intervention was staged for me. Don't be hatin'. Y'all are just jealous that you don't have 10 blogs, too!

There is more but the kids are done with their baths and I'm ready to snuggle with them for the rest of the night! Time in!

Friday, October 24, 2008

My Plans for Today

I've got one busy day ahead...one that I could have been preparing for all week but didn't. My bad.

8-9am Breakfast, blow dry, blog

9am-12pm Visiting teaching

12-pm-1:30pm Lunch, laundry, lose my mind (okay, start packing for my overnight trip and also our week long trip to Oklahoma)

1:30pm-3:00pm Drop Eva off at a friend's house so I can go and be at Caleb's fall party today.

3:00pm-5:00pm Fill up the gas tank, keep the kids occupied, keep packing, get some knitting together for tomorrow, clean up all the recycling and trash in our entryway so all the ladies that come to my house at 5:15pm won't be appalled.

5:15pm--??? Hope that Carl is home so I can drive some awesome friends to Omaha for Time Out for Women. We're staying here. We'll do some playing here. Tomorrow we will get up early for the Saturday session of this.

Thursday, October 23, 2008

A Little More Poop Talk

How many times did Caleb poop today?

Two.

How many times did Caleb poop in the potty?














TWO!!!!


Could it really be possible that my kids are FINALLY potty trained?

I sure hope so.

OPP Q & A

Thanks for all the congrats and well wishes on Caleb's big accomplishment. There were a lot of questions in the comments that I thought I'd answer today and also give a brief explanation of how it all went down yesterday.

Q: Was it the Miralax?

I'm certain the Miralax played a huge role in this. However, I didn't give him any yesterday. I was so tired of cleaning up runny poop messes that I thought I would give him at least the morning off from the laxative and maybe give him some when he was home from piano lessons. I ended up not having to give him any but I'm sure that his poop was still so soft that it was hard for him to hold it in like he usually does. I had him sit on the potty about 10 minutes after we ate dinner. We played rock, paper, scissors for a few minutes and then we heard some plops. Caleb got so excited! Let me tell you, I was too!

Q: Did you dance?

YES!


Q:What did you do to celebrate?

A couple of years ago when we first started potty training, I got a toy for Caleb. It is one of those ball poppers. That was his favorite toy whenever we went to visit my mom. He has known since then that if he goes poop in the potty, he can play with the balls. As soon as the dancing and high fiving ended, he looked at me and said with great excitement, "I GET TO PLAY WITH THE BALLS!". So, we got down the balls. Carl came home right as I was getting ready to turn it on. Caleb was SO HAPPY! Eva was happy, too. She said, "Tank You, Mommy! I having so much fun now!".

I also promised Caleb pizza and ice cream. We had pizza for dinner last night and I'll probably go get him an ice cream cone sometime today.

Q: I love Eva's sweater. Did you knit it?

Oh yes, I did! Here's a post I wrote about it.

Eva was super excited for Caleb to poop on the potty. She gave him lots of hugs and kisses. When we made some phone calls last night she made sure to tell people that she goes poop in the potty, too!

Wednesday, October 22, 2008

This Just In...(or out)

CALEB POOPS IN POTTY!

We are all very proud of him and hope that this success can continue. I'm sure we'll have some setbacks but I can't tell you how pleased I am just knowing that it is possible for him to go in the potty.


Hogwarts School of Sweeping and the Tina Turner Dance Academy

On Monday night I had to finish up dinner for the missionaries and the kids were full of energy. I decided to have them go outside to sweep up all the pine needles in our driveway.

They were so cute that instead of finishing dinner, I grabbed the camera.


Eva started out well enough.



Then she decided a little flying was in order. She's so good she can fly backwards.

Caleb quickly tired of flying and turned his attention to shadow dancing.


That kid sure can groove!

Tuesday, October 21, 2008

So Many Things


I have so many things to blog about and I can't narrow it down. If you can handle seeing pictures of my kids, there are some great new website recommendations at the end of this post. Also, a plea for help.

1. Here is another picture of Caleb I took on Sunday. He is such a charmer. In fact, I just dropped off some medicine at his school and the nurses told me how much they absolutely love him. It's hard not to.

2. I've got a few more pictures to share from the trip to the pumpkin patch. Caleb and Eva had a great time. Carl was brave and even took them in some of the haunted houses. Caleb wasn't too happy about that, but they all survived.



3. A new website launched yesterday that I'm really excited about. It is called Daily Grommet. It is similar to Delight (which I also love) in that they feature one product a day. The Daily Grommet caters to moms and strives to bring in products that we probably haven't seen before. They share a story about the featured product and have a video talking about it. Everyday at noon eastern time, they switch the product. What a fun way to find out about new items.

4. I can't believe I didn't put this at number one. I have two tickets to the OU/Nebraska game. I'm taking my dad. I can't tell you how excited I am about this. I was going to leave Oklahoma on the 1st but then I figured, what the heck, I can stay an extra day and check out the game! Luckily, Nebraska fans are some of the nicest around so they might not even get mad if I'm sitting in their section with my OU gear on. My dad said he'd wear a Nebraska shirt. ;)

5. Our local etsy team, Lincoln Handmade, started a blog. We also have a really cool site where you can see all the etsy minis of our members. It is a great way to support buying handmade. Check it out!

6. I am still loving Swaptree! I made two more swaps this week so now I have almost half of my book club books for the month and space on my bookshelf for them!

7. Help! I have an idea for an online startup but I have no clue what to do about it. Any ideas?

Other Talk About Tuesday posts can be found here.

Monday, October 20, 2008

I Made it Myself-- Paris Magnet Gift Box



This week I had a goal of making some cute packaging for my Paris Map Marble Magnets. They have sold well on etsy but I wanted a clever way to show them at craft fairs and have them be "ready made" gifts for people doing their holiday shopping. This is what I came up with.

It is a 3 X 3 pizza style box. I put some vintage looking postcard paper (layered on black) on the top and wrapped the top with some black ribbon. I cut out a tag using the postcard paper and added the sentiment, "To You From Me" on the same paper as the box (Sahara Sand).

The back of the tag is lined with red so you can write a little personal note on it. The tag is tied to the black ribbon using some linen thread.


I really love how they turned out and I can't wait to see how they do at the open house I'm participating in this weekend. I'll be listing the leftovers in my shop next week.

Wouldn't these be a great gift idea for your favorite world traveling friend or how about your child's French teacher? I need to find an awesome map of Mexico so I can make some for me. I will always be Senora Nelson.

I'm also working on making some state related magnets. I have the supplies---I just haven't started them yet. I'm wondering if those might be better as custom orders? Like, magnets from all the cities you've lived, places you want to visit, where you were born, etc...? I still need to figure out how I'm going to work that out in my head.

At any rate...I loved making these little gift boxes. I wonder what I'll make next week?

Do you have something to share today for I Made it Myself? Post your own creations here!

Sunday, October 19, 2008

Project 365

10/13/08


There wasn't any school today and it was raining. Caleb had a hard day. Here he is "chilling out" with his sword.

10/14/08
We went to Wal-mart and I bought Eva this HSM outfit. It was $5 for the tunic and pants. What a bargain! Eva absolutely LOVES it and then had to go home and watch the movie. Here she is dancing in front of the tv. We watched it quite a few times this week, actually. This could be the start of something new.

10/15/08
Caleb has been asking for hot chocolate a lot lately. He sips it with his spoon and savors every sip.

10/16/08
Book group at the book sale. We met at the fairgrounds this month for book group so we could buy all sorts of cheap books! It was a lot of fun and I actually got out of there and spent less than $10 (my personal goal).

10/17/08
I dyed my hair earlier this week. Maybe it isn't that noticeable? Nobody has said anything to me so it is either hideous and people are ignoring the fact that I changed it, or it doesn't look that much different from before. I used Chocolate Cherry from Garnier.

10/18/08
Carl took the kids to the pumpkin patch yesterday. Lots of cute shots to choose from but I like this one. Classic Nelson kids.

10/19/08
It is a beautiful day today so I decided to take Caleb outside for a photo shoot. I got so many great shots! He would turn away from the camera, say, "ready?", and then turn and make a different face. He was so ANTM.

Saturday, October 18, 2008

Broken Promises

I said I wouldn't start my new sweater until I made 10 mini sweater ornaments and finished the commissioned stockings.

Oops.

I realized that I don't have any knitting group friendly projects going at the moment and knitting group is today! I have a problem working on anything that isn't stockinette stitch at knitting group because I'm easily distracted by all the other knitting and prone to make serious mistakes.

So, I cast on last night.

I'm going to *try* to limit myself and not work on in at home. It will be my knitting group/traveling project for now.

How's that for justification?

Friday, October 17, 2008

Operation Poopy Pants

Most of you know that Caleb has never gone poop in the potty. It is quite a shame...for me, especially, because poop that comes out of a 4 ft. tall, 70 lb. five year old isn't fun to clean up. In the past we thought that he might just be too sensitive to the feel of the toilet. He wouldn't sit on it until he was over 4 years old and even then he looked like he was in mortal agony every time we put him on there. I got him a cushioned seat. He got treats just for sitting. Still, no go. Now sitting on the toilet isn't so much the struggle. He'll do it almost anytime we ask him. He just won't do anything when he sits there.

Yesterday, the pediatrician came up with a new plan. Miralax.

You down with OPP? Yeah, you know me!

Starting tomorrow.

Thursday, October 16, 2008

Landslide

The green yarn won by a landslide! Out of 14 comments, 11 of you voted for it. So, looks like there is a green sweater in my future.

I wish I could have you all vote in all aspects of my life. I'm kind of in a treading water phase at the moment. I know what I have to get accomplished but instead of doing it, I'm doing NOTHING to avoid it. Okay, not "nothing", but close. I'm doing just about anything except what I should be. This paragraph is making no sense at all.

See?

I'm stalling.

I'm about to take Eva to preschool and I MUST use that time to do the stuff I'm avoiding. Then, I can get on to doing the things that make me happy.

Wednesday, October 15, 2008

You Picked It!

The Drops jacket with shawl collar started out strong but was quickly overtaken by Hey Teach later in the day. I tabulated the scores by giving a full point to the first sweater mentioned and 1/2 point if you had a second choice.

February Lady 5
Hey Teach 9
DROPS 6.5
Ivy 2


And now, let's pick the yarn. I won't give you guys total control over this one because sometimes the yarn decides for itself that it doesn't want to work out. I promise to attempt to use whatever one gets the most votes first.

The pattern calls for a worsted weight cotton. I'm not entirely sure I want it made with cotton and after looking on ravelry, I can see that it looks great in just about any type of worsted weight yarn. So, here is what I have lying around that would fit the bill.

Cascade 220 in turquoise

Cascade 220 in my favorite green

Artful yarns Flora (cotton/rayon blend) in hibiscus

Speak now.

Tuesday, October 14, 2008

Help Me Pick Out My Next Project




I have a long list of knitting to-dos. I've got a craft fair to prepare for, some commissioned stockings (50% completed!), and some wallowing unfinished objects (Drunken Argyle, anyone?). On Sunday I wore Unwrapped and it made me realize that I need to knit myself another sweater. I have plenty of yarn hanging around just waiting to be knit into something. I have several patterns in mind. I just can't decide on exactly which one.

Help, please?

I've set a goal to finish 10 mini sweaters and have the stockings 100% completed before I cast on for the sweater that is picked. Project anticipation should be good enough motivation to finish up those other things.

I WILL choose the sweater that gets the majority of the votes. Keep in mind my more than ample frame and help me pick one that will look awesome!



Here are your choices:

February Lady Sweater.
Click to see.

Hey Teach. DROPS jacket with shawl collar.

Ivy.

Write-in. Have a sweater in mind you think I would like? I'll take all write-in suggestions as well.

What say ye?

Got something to talk about today? Do it here.