oct break

October break is upon us (and yet it is still September - ponder on that!). Here in Chandler we have 2.5 weeks - eek! Next week we are going to the north rim of the Grand Canyon (if it is still open, thanks senators), the rest of the time we are here. Today is the big trek to the dentist, so fun. We also have Halloween decor on the brain, as well as costume construction.

Wish me luck!

p.s. Nelson is cute but WAY rotten in sacrament meeting.

c-razy ivan (name the movie)

Who can place the movie line?? Anyhow, it was crazy hair and mismatch day last week at Jacobson. The girls were pleased with their creations.

Diana and doctors

So, Diana goes to the doctor. . . a lot. It is tiresome and boring and sometimes stressful and often confusing and sometimes very very scary.

About a year ago she was diagnosed with inattentive ADHA, started on meds (so helpful for her - just takes the edge off the spaciness and she functions great!) and then had to see a neurologist to have an MRI. The MRI found that her cerebellum is a tad small so they had to do some genetic testing to see if she had a condition called spinocerabellar ataxia, a condition where the cerebellum continues to shrink, decreasing your motor abilities making you lose all fine and gross motor skills and then you die young (AUGHHHHHHH). The tests were done in April and we got the results yesterday, all negative! I cannot tell you how relieved I felt. So for Diana, her cerebellum is just what it is and will not shrink. She is in occupational therapy and will start physical therapy soon and do those for the next 2 years aggressively to help her with her motor skills and then we will take another look. She has a great attitude about therapy and works really hard so she is on board to do this 100% and I am very optimistic!

As for the doctors we don't have the see the neurologist for another year, the neuro-phsycologist in 2 years and the evaluating therapists for 2 years. Maybe the kid can actually just go to school and be normal for a bit.

slipcovered couch

We used to live in a small house. Now we live in a bigger house. We only had one couch in the smaller house but in the bigger another would be so nice. Couches are expensive and kids are hard on furniture. Enter 50% off day at Goodwill and $36 later we were the proud owners of an ugly yet comfortable loveseat and couch.

Isn't she a beut? She is 7 feet long - wow!

A few online tutorials later and I was ready to attack. I decided to use drop cloth because it is 100% cotton (I can dye it if I want), inexpensive, and easy to work with.

First I made what seemed like miles of cording, then covered a few of the cushions to break myself in, since I have done cushions before.  Then Aunt Di came over and helped me fit the back and the inside curve - tricky! You fit a slipcover the same way you fit clothing: inside out.

Next up were the arms and sides - 4 seams meeting in the inside edge about did my little machine in (lots of layers) but we made it.

Moving on to the seat and the "waterfall" front - not too hard. Then the piping along the bottom, the skirt and a few more cushions.

Here she is in her new clothes. I don't know yet if I am brave enough to dye the thing. . . . Maybe I'll just make a bunch of really colorful pillows.

 For those interested in specifics I used 2 full drop cloths (12'X9') and part of a third (you can get them at Harbour Freight on sale and with a coupon for around $13 - a steal if ever there was one), seven 30" zippers (6 cushions and one down the back for easy removal and washing), 3 spools of upholstery thread (I actually ran out on the last cushion) and a lot of welt cording. Hour wise it probably took 12-15 hours, but I have more time than disposable income and I totally feel like I got the great end of this deal. Hip Hip Hooray for my mom who taught me how to sew, Santa Claus who gave me my sewing machine almost 20 years ago, and the BYU costume shop who taught me how to not be scared.

Come take a nap on our couch - it is ready for YOU!

sorry

I'm sorry this has been a very boring place on the internet lately. First, I lost our camera cord. No camera=no pics=boring blogging.

I'm slip-covering a couch right now and it is a labor intensive learning process. I'm excited to share the before and after in a while though.

I'm still trying to figure out new school, volunteering, kids, keeping new house clean etc.

We will try to do something exciting soon so we are a fun blog again.

happenings

Diana and Nora like oatmeal for breakfast these days (finally!) and with the leftovers we make oatmeal bread - oh heaven. It makes especially great toast and is divine right out of the oven. This isn't any special recipe, you just add your leftover oatmeal to your bread recipe and decrease your water a bit.

Isaac lost his first tooth and is feeling very big. The tooth fairy left Isaac a gold dollar for a special treat for his first tooth. I think he has already lost it (the dollar).