The Balloons have Begun!!

Today was the first day of the Balloon Fiesta! We watch for balloons in the sky every morning after we take Porter to school, and this morning, there were lots of them! This morning, the Trader Joe's balloon launched from a field by Porter's school, so we got up a little earlier and watched it. The balloon handlers lay the balloon out on the ground, then use a fan to blow it up. Once the balloon is pretty inflated, they light the torch which heats up the air in the balloon and makes it rise. Once everything is in place, they load up the basket with people and take off! It was so cool to watch! And especially exciting since that's what I'm going to be doing in three weeks! YIPEE!

P.S. Sorry about the crappy picture - that's the view from the front of our house!

Happy Birthday to...

Me!!! Not to toot my own horn or anything... :)

The big 3-0...wow. I can't believe I'm now one of those thirty-somethings...I always thought of those people as being old. Not really old, but old. As people who already have their life established. In your twenties, so many things happen - college, marriage, new jobs, kids; but in your thirties, all those things are already established, so the only thing there is to do is carry on with life. Maybe I should be ambitious and make some goals or set some new resolves for the next decade - there's always room to make myself better.

My first 30's goal was to not do any work today on my birthday; I was just going to play. Do you know how hard that is?!?!? I couldn't believe the natural tendancy I have to just pick up and make things cleaner and neater. Rhett cooked me dinner today (crab legs, YUM!) and I tried, TRIED to stay out of the kitchen and let him do all the work. But I found myself, on more than one occasion, in there picking up a spoon to stir something, or grabbing the knife to cut something. Even after dinner, I just wanted to take the dishes to the sink or put stuff away...I had to force myself to just let it be. Rhett kept getting after me, telling me to go lock myself in a room and take a bath or watch a movie or just go to bed; but it's hard to just let the boys be when they are always asking, "mom, can you do this?" "Mom, what is that?"

But it has been a good day. Thanks to all those who sent birthday wishes and thought of me today! It's friends and family like you that make birthdays that much more special, even at this old age... :) And my boys are a big part of that. I think they sang Happy Birthday to me a half a dozen times today. Rhett is really good at making sure I relax and have a day off. I couldn't have asked for anything more.

P.S. My gift from Rhett was a trip in a hot air balloon later this month!!!

Almost done!

We have been working on finishing our backyard. We had our cement patio-slab extended yesterday and we were so excited to walk on it today - you'd have thought we had a new toy or something. We are one weekend away from having the backyard completely done! I am also working on getting the little things in my house put together and finished so it doesn't look like we moved in last week anymore. I put some finishing touches on our loft and have picture frames on the walls waiting for the pictures (which I'm picking up Tuesday at Costco), added some new towels and a rug to the bathroom, and am finishing up some other wall projects that have been sitting around for a long time. I'll post pictures when they are all done. I'm really excited about having a completed house!

Towels and blankets

I have been making cute hooded towels and baby blankets for the craft fair I am doing in November, but wanted to offer them to everyone as well.

The hooded towels are made of good quality adult-sized towels and are perfect for children from infancy through childhood. All my boys received one of these hooded towels when they were born and I have used them for every bath sincw and still use them. In fact, I need to keep some at the grandparents' house so we can use them when we visit! The towels are great for babies because the hood covers their head and is big enough to lay on the counter or where ever and you can wrap the baby up warmly. Plus, they are thick, so they don't soak through like the little ones you can get from the stores. The towels are big enough to wrap a bigger child, also - and my kids love to use them as capes or to be Ja-Was (from Star Wars). They make great baby shower gifts, birthday gifts, or are nice to have to use after baths, showers, or even after the pool. They are available in four colors, green, blue, yellow, or pink. However, they can be done in a towel of any color that has a matching wash cloth.

I am offering them for $15 each plus shipping. If you are interested, post a comment or you can email me.

P.S. Please excuse Zach's expression in the picture - he wasn't too thrilled about being my model!!

I also have two kind of baby blankets. They are all sized 34 inches square and are done in all sorts of cute designs. The first kind are made of the softest flannel and are perfect for babies or small chilren. The second kind are the same design, but are made of star soft-and-fluffy fabric with a satin border and back. They are my favorite! These ones are available in pink, blue, or white. The flannel ones are available for $18 plus shipping, and the S&F/satin ones are available for $22 plus shipping. The flannel ones are done in many different fabics, so let me know if you would like to see any others.

P.S. Sorry to make my blog an advertising campaign; I just love these and wanted to offer them to everyone!

New Mexico State Fair

Yesterday we went to the State Fair with some friends and had a blast! We saw the animals, did a farm activity, rode the Merry-Go-Round, ate a HUGE bag of cotten candy, and the boys got their faces painted. New Mexico has one of the best state fairs and they had a ton of other things going on - shows, carnival rides, food galore, art galleries, and much, much more. It was great!

It's Off!!

Zach got his cast off this morning! YIPEE!! He's very hesitant to walk on his leg and still asks to be carried, but he's getting used to it. The doctor says he'll limp for a few weeks and it will take him a while for him to get used to not having the cast on, but it's off!! Hopefully we won't have any broken bones for a long time!!

Zach's Cast

For those of you who have asked, Zach did indeed break his leg and has been in a cast for the past four weeks. He did it jumping off the bunkbed ladder. He broke the bone in his right shin and his cast runs from his thigh to his toes. It's a nice crimson red with a glow-in-the-dark stripe on it. We call it his candy-cane leg. But the kicker is that he hasn't been able to walk, so we've had to carry him around everywhere. He's quite a heavy kid - but my biceps look great!

He will get the cast off Thursday and I'm so excited for him to be able to take himself to

the bathroom...