Molly's room...

After two and a half years, Molly's room is almost finished. When we moved into this house, we did quite a bit of painting. I was unable to finish the trim in either of the kids' rooms. I got the first coat on, but then we had the new windows put in and never got around to doing the second "pretty" coat. Also, my beloved Oma made yet another set of curtains for me. I wanted white fabric so that no matter what color the walls were we could use them. Also when we moved into the house Molly was still in the crib so we had the crib skirt which I knew I would change the fabric when she moved into a big bed, so I did not want to embellish the curtains until that was picked out. So...it has been quite a while since all of that change happened, but we have been busy with other projects - and honestly I was done painting trim for a while!

Well, it finally got done this week. My dear friend, Davina, was willing to sew the new fabric onto the curtains. (One of the many reasons why I love having Davina in my neighborhood - she sews for me!) I even covered the buttons and attached them in their place all by myself - the buttons took forever to sew on! Of course (if you know me at all) once all the new paint was done and dry and the curtains were hung back up, I couldn't just put the furniture back in its place - I HAD to rearrange the room. I even rearranged the pictures on the walls. I love the way it is now, and so does Molly. I love the new fabric on the curtains. There is only one project left to do - I was staring at the walls yesterday and decided that I am going to have the kids do some artwork of their own to hang on the walls. I discovered this great panel that I am going to use - hopefully in the next month - so check back for wall updates!

Our first lost tooth...

Jack woke up from his nap on Monday, and I noticed that the space between two of his teeth was different. I asked him if his tooth was loose, and yes, it was! He was totally consumed with the loose tooth, and what was going to happen in the process of it falling out. I told him to pull it out, but he was not up for that challenge. Well the next day as we were driving on an errand, I hear Jack say..."I lost my tooth!" Now, I was expecting it to be loose for at least a week or more and have us talk about how we could get it to come out, but we didn't get the chance to have so many of our conversations be consumed with teeth talk. Instead, we got one day. He put it under his pillow last night, and the tooth fairy came. So while our kids might not believe in Santa Claus, the tooth fairy is alive and kicking in our house!

As a side note, I was so excited that he lost his tooth for two reasons. One...it is yet another example that my six year old is continuing to grow up fast. There is something about your child being of the age that he is losing something that he was not born with - another era for Jack! Second...I had a hard time losing my baby teeth. At one year old, I had half a tooth. It only continued that my roots did not want to let go of the teeth, but the adult teeth were ready to make their appearance. So, I had to have 8 baby teeth pulled (along with 4 adult teeth). I do not remember losing teeth, but my memory is going to the oral surgeon and having the sharpest needle known to man spiked into my upper pallet and having the teeth pulled - so while there was no pain I did hear the squeaking of the surgeon twisting out the teeth. But I digress back to the point...I did not want Jack to have to go through that process (selfishly, I didn't want to have to pay for it). I wanted him to have it the "normal" way!

Purple Scarf...

My mom bought me some beautiful purple sock yarn while she was here over the Christmas holiday. She was going to knit my a scarf, but I got the hankering to do it myself. I had never knitted with small straight needles. Up until this point, I had only knit in the round with big needles. Once I figured out the pattern that I wanted and how wide I wanted, it was an easy and fun scarf to make. I love the color! Now I have a hankering to make a green scarf, then I will have a red, blue, purple, and green scarf - and I think that is enough to match any outfit that I may put together. Now, I am off to finish two blankets I have yarn for - here is to happy knitting in the winter.

Clean Ring...

I finally got around to taking a picture of my clean ring. Thanks to some women friends helping know how to clean it, it is shiny and pretty again. I soaked it in a pot lined with foil and filled with warm water and baking soda. It was shiny in no time at all, then I polished it with my cloth. Good as new!

Jack's new hat...

My mom made this hat for Jack for Christmas. I absolutely loved it - the colors, the hat, everything! Jack also loves it. We are really having to watch how often he is in a hat - just like someone else we know and love! We have had to limit how many days he is in a ball cap, but he has found a loop hole - he wears his knit hat. Today after I picked him up from school, Jack informed me that he is "allowed" to wear this type of hat ALL day at school. The thing I have come to love most about this hat is...the way Jack chooses to wear it! Yes, his ears are always that way. I am surprised that he likes it this way, but I guess it keeps his head warm while not overheating his ears, since he is prone to overheating. Every time he comes around the corner, I pick him up from school, or something of that nature I smile because I think it makes him look so cute, yet silly!

So if you need to smile today or tomorrow or the next day...come back to my blog and look at these two pictures of Jack!

Here's what happens...

...when you wear your silver wedding ring in the natural hot springs!

The family went up to a nearby hot spring on Monday. I was not thinking, and I wore my ring. After we had been sitting there for awhile, I looked down and saw my ring. I am hopeful that it will come clean with some silver polish, but there is a chance it is ruined. The thing that I find most fascinating about it is that the inside is still shiny and normal. I guess there is something to it that it was against my skin. Who knew?!

Just a side note, the kids, of course, had a blast. They loved showing me the ropes since they were experienced hot spring people! It was a good way to end the Christmas holiday before the routine of school started again!

(I will post another picture should I have success in getting it cleaned)