Uh Oh, Christmas Tree

This year our Christmas tree is a few things:  Unique.  Creative.  Weird.  Cool?  DIY.  Pretty.  Cheap!  Easy.

With a few reservations, I do like it.  We originally planned to do the traditional (for us, anyway) real seven foot tree.  I figured we could teach Madison not to touch it, just like we have with the chemicals under the sink, the glass in our buffet, the trash can, the (covered) electrical socket, etc.  But then, when she saw her first Christmas tree of the year (for our Santa pictures at my aunt's house), something awful and kind of cute happened:  she pointed to an ornament on the tree and said, "Bawl."  Madison is pretty good at minding simple rules, but when there's a "bawl" on the line, all the rules go out the door.  She LOVES to touch, "catch", throw, and kick balls.  She loves to put them on her head, in her shirt, in a bag, under the couch, or in her crib.  Other than me, they're pretty much her favorite thing (sorry, Patrick).

So I knew that having any "bawls" in her reach was going to be a nightmare.  I started brainstorming:  what if we put the tree behind the couch with a baby gate?  (Answer:  she'd climb over the couch or over the baby gate.)  What if we just had a tabletop tree this year?  (I would never get into the Christmas spirit.)  What if we didn't use any ball ornaments?  (We would have about three ornaments on the tree.)  What if I just did the regular tree after all?  (Terrible twos would come early.)

Then, feeling defeated, I took Madison to Walmart just to look at the options, hoping for inspiration.  That's when I saw it:  5-6 ft real trees for just $19.  At this point, I wasn't thinking about the Madi problem; I was just seeing dollar signs.  I could make this work!  My first thought (which lasted for about fifteen seconds) was to have a HUGE tree topper.  Then I saw it in my head and realized how silly that would look.  Then I thought, "What if we elevated it from the bottom?  Ooh, if we raised it high enough, Madison couldn't touch it!  AND it would be cheap!!!"  At this point, it was a done deal.  All I had to do was convince Patrick to build me a riser, and I've convinced him in the past to do much worse things with his Saturdays.

The end result:

Here's how we (he) did it:

• He built a box from scrap 2x4's and plywood.  It was going to be wrapped like a present, so we didn't need anything fancy.
•  He screwed our existing tree stand to the top.
•  He put 50 lbs in the box so it wouldn't be top heavy with the tree.  That's why he put plywood on the bottom, too.

•  He cut the bottom off the tree so it could absorb water better?  (I've never understood this part...isn't it already cut?)
• He manhandled it into the tree stand by himself so I could take pictures for posterity.

•  He stood back and pondered how crazy the woman he married is.

•  He realized that the trunk was way thinner than our tree stand was made for.  This threw about an hour's worth of head scratching, sawing, and bolt tightening/loosening into the mix.

•  This is where I took over.  I reworked the box from our tv into a "gift box" to go around the base and stand. 
• I stapled (with our staple gun) the box to the wooden riser.  I left the existing folds at the top of the box to help complete the look, hoping that once the branches fanned out it would look good.

•  I wrapped the whole thing in our wrapping paper for this year...brown craft paper!  The beauty of using it here was that it almost perfectly matched the color of the cardboard underneath, so my less than perfect wrapping job is pretty well disguised.

We did all of this over dinner and an episode of Dora, but at this point it was Madison's bedtime.  So we put her down and (I) got to decorating!

I burned out on the pompom garland making about an hour after Madi went down, so this is what we had the next morning:

And here's the end result!  At least it's the end unless/until I figure out what I want to put on top of the tree.  I also want to make a giant tag or something for the "present", but I want it to match our real presents, so that'll have to wait until I decide which way we're going for labels.

 
I'm SO glad to be "done" with it.  I'm sure I'll be making small changes right up until Christmas, but the work is over!

Oh, and it passes the Madi uh-oh test (meaning I haven't had to say "uh-oh" yet).  She can touch a few of the bottom ornaments with one finger if she stretches up on her tippy-toes, but I don't see her getting a hold of any of them this year (knock on wood).

Have you put your tree up yet?  Have you ever had to do an edited Christmas tree for a toddler?  What was your edit?  Most importantly, how are you labeling your gifts this Christmas?

Merry Tuesday!
-Kelli

 PS:  I linked up over here!

What Our Office Really Looks Like

So I've left out a little tidbit on here for a while now.  The last time I showed you our office, it looked like this:

That picture of Madison is still our wallpaper..it's been Christmas all year!

 Sorry for the even worse than usual picture quality...I guess I had my camera set to low quality, probably so I could Craigslist something.

I hated almost everything about this room.  The bed jutting out and being the first thing you saw from the door made the room look smaller than it is-it's actually the largest bedroom in our house.  The bookshelf was not great quality (laminate), not safe (it leaned against the wall...we could have bolted it down if we liked it, but not-so-much).  The desk being stuffed in a corner made being on the computer not fun at all.  The desk itself, even though it was a very nice piece of furniture, was super dark and heavy-feeling.  It was also literally heavy.  Just ask Pat and the two guys that came to buy it.  (With Patrick lifting one side and two men lifting the other, his back hurt the next day!)

Obviously we sold the desk.  We also sold the bookshelves and bed, leaving the room empty except for Madi's toys and our computer on the ground.  So here's the (not at all finished) reveal:

Here's what we've done so far:

• Sold everything (clearing out the room)
• Bought a futon ("Emily" from Walmart...love it)
• Built a desk (and painted it blue BECAUSE WE CAN)
• Moved Madison's nursery rug into the office (because it's so nice and plush, but we never play in her room)

And here's what's yet to be done:

• Paint the walls (probably a soft grey so I can call myself a real blogger, haha)
• Replace the light fixture
• Address window treatments
• Build a console for under the desk (to hold/hide the PC, file box, and other ugly but necessary desk things)
• Finish refinishing the two desk chairs we already have (which you've never really seen)
• Untangle and hide all the cords
• Convince Patrick we don't need a printer
• Sew Madison a poof cover to contain all her stuffed animals (the huge pile in the corner by the futon)
• Hang real art (what's on the walls is literally only there because I didn't want to find space in a closet and the nails were already there)
• Replace the missing closet door knob
• Find a thrifted or free tv table (but not for a tv) for the wall across from the futon (the one on your right when you come in the door) for additional toy/office storage and a place for Madison to draw/color
• Cover the fronts of Madison's diaper toy boxes (under the futon) with fabric

Phew!  Between this room, Christmas gifts, and DIY Christmas decor, I am SOOOOOOO overwhelmed with projects right now.  But I'm also really excited for what I hope will be a great result. 

Are you overloading your (metaphorical) plate right now?  (Do you spend more time talking parenthetically than not?)  Do you have any soft grey (gray?) walls in your home?  Does all this talk about grey make you curious about the next episode of Grey's?

Happy Monday!
-Kelli

Did I Do That?!

I guess the coming Boy Meets World spinoff brought me back to my Steve Urkel days.  Am I the only one who faithfully sat through Family Matters, Full House, and Step By Step without a potty break?  Probably.  Those were the days!

Anyway, my most recent project seriously has me asking, "Did I do that?!"  If you asked me two months ago if I would ever sew a garment for Madison, I'm pretty sure I would have laughed at you.  Now I've made TWO!  There was, of course, her Pebbles costume, but that didn't really count in my mind because it was made to be "rustic".  I just popped a couple hand stitched seams down the sides, attacked it with scissors, and called it a day.  This time, I used an actual sewing machine (gasp) and made a non-costume garment for her.  Meaning it wasn't supposed to look homemade.

It all started when I saw this on Pinterest:

 Long story short: you cut the bottom off of a ladies' small or medium shirt, double fold and sew most of the waistline, pull elastic through the track, sew the elastic together, finish the seam, and you're DONE!  Meaning the skirt is 3/4 finished before you even start.

So I went to our local thrift store, bought myself a $3 shirt, and brought it home to try out the tutorial.

 And then, like the A-1 blogger I am, I forgot to take any progress pictures.  So here's the finished product (the headband was Madi's choice, not mine):

 

Cost:
Shirt (thrifted): $3
Elastic (4 yds, only used 18 in): $2
Total: $5

It took about forty minutes to sew, including ironing (yuck).  Not a bad return for my first "real" sewing project!  The best part?  The next one (and there will be more for sure) will only be $3 (since the elastic's paid for).  Less if I drag myself to the cheap thrift store fifteen minutes down the road!

What's your favorite beginner sewing project?  I've got SO much to learn!

Happy Friday (again)
-Kelli

Source: thelifeofjenniferdawn.blogspot.com via Kelli on Pinterest

What's on My Mind Monday

Linking up over here!


I.  As of yesterday, Madison is ten months old!  Some new things this month:

• Scooting  (really late, I know)
• Crawling  (ditto)
• Pulling up  (still kind of behind)
• Walking  (whoa!)
• "Dada"
• "Ba"(Ball)

Favorite things:

• Taking Bella outside
• Being tickled
• Hide and Seek
• Reading anything, but especially Dr. Seuss books and Duck In The Truck
• Cheese
• Walking
• Posing for pictures

 Least favorite things:

• Eggs (No worries, it was just the yolks, folks)
• Wearing bows (I've been told twice this month what a cute little boy I've got)
• Long car rides
• Afternoon naps (now officially eliminated)
• Falling down
• Being told "no"

 II.  Patrick's brother married one of my childhood friends on Saturday.  The wedding was absolutely beautiful, and I failed to take a single picture.  Boo hiss.  They are honeymooning in Rome and Paris for the next two-ish weeks, and they didn't offer to bring me along, so I guess they had it coming.  : )

Since the wedding kind of filled the whole day for us (his brother spent the night before at our house), Madison didn't get a real nap on Saturday.  She slept in her car seat for maybe fifteen minutes, and dozed in Patrick's/my/the bride's/my arms for all of twenty minutes.  This led to her very first high chair nap.  Notice the partially chewed puff in her mouth.  Don't notice the laundry, dirty dishes, and jacked up rug in the background. 

 III.   Remember how I said Madison loves to pose?  I think I figured out who she got it from.

Happy Monday!
-Kelli

What's on My Mind Monday

Linking up over here:

 I.  Madison is getting pretty confident with her walking, a LOT more confident than either Patrick or me.  She'll just take off full speed ahead across our hard wood floors.  So far, we've been able to catch up with her before any major wipe outs, but I'm sure I'll be sharing sometime soon about  her first second big fall.   

II.  We had a BLAST on Saturday at our niece and nephew's combined birthday party.  It was at Pump It Up, and while this was Madison's second time there, it was her first time to actually participate in the fun. I was shocked by how well she did; she made it through the big maze twice, once with Pat and once with me!

This thing was huge!

 III.  I watched Courageous last night.  Once I got past the cheese factor (you know there's got to be at least a little cheesiness with a movie this small), I really enjoyed it.  This is the first movie I've cried while watching since...oh wait, I cried during the last Harry Potter movie, too.  Scratch that thought.

IV.  Patrick accepted a new position at his current company.  For the first time ever, he is going to get paid for something other than sweating (unless the a/c goes out, in which case I guess he'll still be getting paid to sweat).  What I'm trying to say is that he doesn't have to sell his body anymore. Sorry honey, I couldn't resist.  What is it he'll be doing?  Ummm, you've got me there.  I'm pretty sure there's a paycheck involved, though.  Or at least that's the rumor.  : )

 V.  I do realize that I've never posted an Easter recap(I did write a post about her Easter basket, though), and I've since lost all hope for a full post about it, so here you go:

Cousin love

First egg hunt

She "found" this one herself!

If only she ate the eggs I cook this well!

Our best take at the bluebonnet picture; at least 2/3 of us are looking at the camera!

 The cousins picture was a bit elusive this year:

Take one

Take two

Take three

Hoppy Easter!

 And Happy Monday!

-Kelli

An Apple a Day Keeps the...Veterinarian Away?

Last night, Bella ate the leftover portion of my apple.  First, she nibbled all the remaining fruit around the core while Patrick turned it for her like a rotisserie chicken.  She used her front teeth, just like we do.  I've never seen a dog do anything like this.  Once it was clean, just to see what she would do with it, he gave her the core.  She broke it into two pieces, ate them both, then politely spit the stem out onto the floor.  Literally all that was left was stem and slobber.  

In other news, Madison is now crawling.  She started scooting on 3/31/12 (Saturday), then decided on Tuesday night that crawling was the way to go.  She was pretty far behind on her physical milestones, I think mostly because I caved too easily when she would get frustrated with her tummy time.  Oddly enough, right around the time I decided to let her fuss a little longer on the floor, she learned to move herself.  In the last week, she has learned:

• how to go from a sitting position to on her tummy without slamming her face into the ground every time
• how to go from her tummy to a sitting position
• how to scoot
• how to crawl
• how to pull up on objects (and or people)
• how to sit back down
• how to cruise on an object (but not go from one object to another)
• how to read (you know what I mean) books without eating them
• how to wave bye bye.

It's like she's decided to quit, cold turkey, being a baby.  She cries so much less now.  If she wants something, she goes and gets it!  It's strange how this has made my job easier and more difficult at the same time.  She's a lot easier to be around now, because she's not miserable all day, but at the same time, I'm terrified that she'll pull up on something unstable and crack her head on the hard floor if I'm distracted for even a second. 

And she moves so quickly now.  Our office is also her play room, so the other day I was reading a funny email while she was playing with a book.  I glanced over to check on her, and she had scooted (this was before the crawling thing, now she's even faster) all the way across the room and was enthusiastically sucking on Bella's chew toy.

So basically, what I'm trying to say is that I'm a terrible mommy/doggy-mommy.  I give dog toys to my baby and apple seeds to my dog. 

Let's play the "make Kelli feel better about herself as a caregiver" game.  How have you screwed up in your job this week?  Or ever?  Feel free to make up a story if you don't have any real-life failures that compare.  I don't plan to fact check; I'll be too busy trying to be a human airbag.

-Kelli

What's on My Mind Monday

Linking up over here:

 I.  I was able to finish Sunday School again!  Two weeks in a row, what what! 

II.  I just started reading Stuff Christians Like by Jonathan Acuff.  It's sooo funny.  I highly recommend it, unless you hate laughter. 

III.  Madison finally jumped on the independent mobility train this week (3/31/12).  She's nine months old, and just now started scooting to get where she wants to go.  I think she made the breakthrough now because I stopped caving every time she cried for help to get up and walk.  She also started pulling up and cruising a little, although she gets scared pretty quickly if she realizes that she's not in contact with someone while standing.

IV.  Patrick made me some brownie batter cookies on Saturday, which in theory was a really sweet gesture.  However, he made them much better than I ever have, so he lost all potential brownie points to my baking envy. 

Happy Monday!
-Kelli

Honest Babe

Madison, apparently, cannot tell a lie.  (And yes, I do know that's a Washington, as opposed to Lincoln, reference, but who can resist an easy pun?  Not me.)

As Patrick was giving Madison her bath (still in progress btw, with much splashing and squealing) I noticed a few wet splotches on our comforter, where they had just been playing.  I called into the bathroom,

K: Did Madison spit up on the comforter?
P: Ummmm....
M:  Uh-huh.

I love that girl.

What's on My Mind Monday

Linking up over here this morning:

I.  Madison totally tricked me yesterday morning.  Her sleep has been going like clockwork lately, so much so that I don't actually check the clock anymore when she wakes up.  I just go get her.  Well, yesterday she decided to wake up two full hours early.  Normally, I would go pick her up, hold her for a minute or so, then put her back down.  That works pretty much every time.  Instead, since I assumed it was time to wake up, I went ahead and got her up and nursed her, which threw off the whole schedule of the day.  I was so tired when we (Patrick and I) got her up from her first nap that I lapsed into an island tongue, with the off balance cadence, accent, and all: "If I go sleep now, you think she be okay?"  Weird, man.

II.  Big changes are a-brewing in the Philpot household!  That's right, we did change our daily breakfast.  We no longer have burritos (for Patrick) and eggs and toast (for me); we now start off our morning with bagels and cream cheese!  For those of you concerned about the nutrition trade-off, as it turns out, these bagels have more protein than the eggs/burritos that used to be our menu, and less sodium, sugar, and bad cholesterol.  Who knew?

III.  Madison has started a new thing.  Sometimes when we carry her, she'll raise either one or both hands straight above her head.  It looks like she's either riding a roller coaster or saying "Hallelujah", which was especially relevant when she did it during worship yesterday morning.  I would have taken a picture, but that might have been seen as a bit irreverent.  : )

IV.  Due to our (okay, my) former conversations with the local Jehovah's Witness missionaries, we've apparently been blacklisted.  Seriously, they'll knock on our left-hand neighbor's door, cross the street to walk past our house, then recross the street to knock on our right-hand neighbor's door, all with us in the yard trying to make eye contact/waving hello.  It's very frustrating.  Our grass, however, is apparently not off limits.  Yesterday, they parked two cars in our front ditch, then proceeded to use our front yard as a staging ground for adjusting ties and replenishing their stock of watchtower publications.  When Patrick went out to invite them inside/ask if they needed any help, they politely declined, saying that they were looking for Spanish-speaking people.  Apparently they've met their quota of English-speaking folk (or at least the ones who are born-again, once-saved-always-saved, worshipers of Jesus as God).  Wow.  That came across as incredibly insensitive.  For the record, I have nothing against these people who are trying so hard to please a God they have never met.  I'm just hoping for an opportunity to introduce them.

Sorry for the attitude.  I should have drank my coffee before writing my post.  Lesson learned.
 Happy Monday!
-Kelli

THREEE! (says the psycho lady)

Our church is getting a new directory, so Patrick, Madison, and I went last night to get our souls stolen our picture taken.  I didn't really put much thought into the process, since it's not really something I'll be hanging on the wall, or probably even putting in a photo album.  I'm just not into the whole "here's a bluish blackish tie dye background, now sit in front of it and tilt your heads toward one another and we've got ourselves a photograph" thing.  Don't get me wrong; I know nothing about photography, and I know that I know nothing about photography, but I do know what I don't like.

What I'm trying to establish is that I didn't go into this thing with high expectations.  Honestly, I don't think I even had expectations, so when I tell you I was disappointed by our picture, that should tell you something.

Here's how it happened.  Our appointment was at 6:10.  Madison woke up at about 6:00.  We rushed around the house like crazy people, shouting things like "fix it in the car", "I found her pink cardigan", "she spit up(and peed, and spit up again)", and about six or seven different occasions of "did it get on her outfit?"  We managed to arrive at the church about ten minutes late, apologize, and then walk into the waiting room where we discovered we could have been another twenty minutes late without causing any delay.

Once they called our names, we had to get Madison ready again, since she had lost both shoes, mussed her hair, and removed the cardigan.  Okay, I'm actually the one who removed the cardigan, but you know what I mean.  We hurried her over to the "set" (hello, bluish blackish tie dye backdrop, I haven't seen you since my high school graduation pictures), then got in the standard Mommy on stool, baby in lap, Daddy on stool behind Mommy leaning forward and elevated to make him seem disproportionately taller than Mommy.

The photographer (I was sorely tempted to break out the quotation marks there) then proceeded to pull out this naaasssty old stuffed duck.  I think it used to be yellow, but grey is the closest description I can give for its current color.  Madison seemed about as impressed by it as I was; smiles were just not happening.  The "photographer" (sorry, couldn't help myself-now we'll call him Jim) took one picture with her not smiling, after which Patrick said, "Shoot, I blinked."  Then Jim decided that we didn't want a non-smiling picture.  He and the lady he was working with labored in vain for a smile for about three minutes. 

I gradually became more and more involved in operation make-baby-smile.  First, I just bounced her on my lap.  Then, I bounced her on my lap while tickling her.  Finally, what ended up working was bouncing her on my lap, counting "One, two, THREEEEE!" and tickling on three.  We took four or five shots that way, then called it a wrap (rap?  I'm totally not up on the America's Next Top Model lingo) and went to the product pushing table.

Pat and I had discussed beforehand that we were sure we'd get a great picture of Madison and want to buy it, but that we weren't going to.  Let's just say God removed all temptation for us.

The first picture was okay for Madison and me, but as I'm sure you remember, Patrick blinked.  No problem.  Picture 2 was great for Patrick and Madison, but thanks to the "THREEEEE!", I look deranged.  Seriously, I look as likely to eat Madison as I am to tickle her.  No problem.  One of the next three pictures was sure to be an improvement, right?  WRONG!  In every single picture, I have the same expression.

On the bright side, people use the directory (which includes phone numbers for each willing member) to call and ask for things like babysitters, substitutes for Sunday School teachers, etc.  I'm pretty sure when they see my face in that picture, they'll just keep on moving.  Oh, and one more silver lining: Madison's smile in the picture we selected (2, if you want to know) is beautiful.  Big surprise.

I think we'll get our complimentary 8X10 in a few weeks.  I promise to share it with you once it arrives!  In the meantime, please spare me the "I'm sure it can't be that bad"'s.  It is. 

What's the worst professional picture you've ever taken?  Was it for school, prom, maybe even a wedding?

-Kelli

A Time to Cut Back: More Than You Ever Wanted to Know About Our Finances

Patrick and I have really buckled down on our finances.  Our house mania a couple of months ago (which, by the way, has since subsided) forced us to take a really close look at our cash flow.  See, we thought we were managing our money well, but when we actually sat down and crunched numbers, we were surprised to see a much larger margin between our income and necessary outgo than we expected.  At first, in the midst of our I-want-a-bigger-better-house-and-I-want-it-now mentality, that was an exciting find.  It meant we could afford a larger monthly payment, right?  WRONG. 

We realized that we had been just blowing through our margin each month, not decreasing debt or increasing savings AT ALL.  Then, after much time spent in denial, followed by about a week of non-verbalized but simultaneous doubt about whether we should move forward in our plans to "move up" in housing right now, we finally admitted to each other that we need to get our finances in order before committing ourselves to a larger monthly payment.

Since that time, we've (finally) paid off the hospital where Madison was born and started saving to pay off our last old, bad debt.  And when I say "bad", I mean "don't drive through Wichita Falls or you'll go to jail" kind of bad.  It turns out that it's not a good idea to throw away your traffic ticket and forget about it; eventually, they'll remind you, probably right around the time you renew your license.  Oops.  So, yeah, we're about two months out from being debt free(excluding our mortgage).

Our basic blueprint for our finances is Dave Ramsey's Baby Step Program.  If you've never heard of Dave Ramsey, well, crawl out from under the rock you've been living under for the last seven years and go check him out.  He is, admittedly, extreme in his financial views, and for good reason.  He became a millionaire in his twenties, lost it all and some(largely because of the risks he took with credit), then started over, building more wealth than ever, without using debt.  He is a firm believer that "the borrower is slave to the lender", and now so are we.

By our estimate, it will take us until the end of the year to finish Baby Step 3 (fully funding our three month emergency fund).  Until then, we are operating on an extremely limited budget.  There is a little wiggle room; Patrick and I each get $2.50 discretionary spending for each paycheck.  I've got my eye on a pretty sweet bookmark, and if I can talk them down a little, it just might fit in the budget!  I'll be sure to share the deets with you as soon as I close on the deal.

But seriously, you can expect to see some posts on saving money pretty soon.  A few areas of concern right now:

• Home decor
• Madison's Birthday Party
• Groceries
• Madison's Birthday Party
• Clothing
• Madison's Birthday Party

I feel like I'm leaving something out.  Oh yeah, Madison's first birthday party!  Pinterest, here I come.

So you're all caught up on the goings on over here at the Philpot abode.  What have you been up to lately?
-Kelli

What's on My Mind Monday

Linking up over here:

I.  We had some really good friends come to stay with us over spring break.  This is my first morning since Wednesday to wake up to an empty house, and Madi and I feel lonely!

II.  Thanks to one of the amazing ladies who works in our church nursery, I was able to sit ALL the way through Sunday School.  Apparently, Madison fell asleep while being rocked, so this sweet lady angel sent from heaven held her for forty minutes until Sunday School let out.  She said she was afraid to lay her down; I know the feeling!

III.  Madison is on her second antibiotic following her first ear infection.  She started on Amoxicillin, then had a reaction after four days on the medicine.  Her rash is finally starting to disappear.  Thankfully, the rash didn't seem to bother her (just me!) and she is doing fine on the new antibiotic.

IV.  As I type, Madison is "dancing" on he play mat.  I wish I had the camera with me, but I know that if I leave the room to get it, she'll have a meltdown and not be in the mood for dancing, anyway.  I need a holster for that thing so I don't miss these opportunities!

V.  I had a dream last night, where our neighbor was trying to sell his house.  When I asked him if there was anything we could do to help, his face turned red and he refused to answer.  I finally got him to admit that he needed us to mow our grass.  I woke up feeling pretty embarrassed; it's only been a week, but it is pretty bad.

Happy Monday!
-Kelli