Live from Tormville!

Guess who came over

and guess who loves the geeetar

have a nice night.  I'm off to bed giddy with excitement as tomorrow is a Monday AND the first of the month.  It's bound to be good!

Love a Sunday Morning

When there's a roast in the oven already at 6:30.  mmmmm....

I got to thinking last night, as I was rocking my baby to sleep, that - I really really love this blog.  You see, for me, it's a scrapbook.  It's a place that I can come to at anytime and jot down a few fun things here and there, it's a great little documentary of our lives. 

Take yesterday, for instance, when I posted this picture of the 8 month old lunk skittering up the stairs


And I was thinking out loud to Pa that....you know, he's really young to be up to these shenanigans already...let me see when Brian started that. And I came to this blog and I searched it - here's Brian climbing the steps.  He's over a year old.

So I sat Markie on my lap and said,  'look here little show-off, you can still wait two months and be ahead of the game - slow down!'

Stinker

We'll be putting that bracket that you see on the right of the photo to use real soon.  It holds a wall/gate thing that Pa made to keep the littles from scampering all the way up, and to give the babies a half length of steps to learn and tumble on rather than the whole length. Right now I have the whole stairs blocked off, but that's rather a drag too. 

And truly, I think this is my payback for laughing at my brother's kids.  He's the one that gets the 9 month walkers, the 18 month circus performers, the ladder climbers and window crawler outers.  I've never had one....I was enjoying it just fine from a few miles away. But I laughed, apparently a little too vocally. 

The day's not over yet!

On Saturday's I find myself trying to polish off the rest off my weekly to-do list.  I didn't quite pull it all off, but I made a good size dent.

Tonight, I finished transferring my resume.  The sight that I had used for the last couple years has been having some problems, so it's been on my mind to get it transferred before all is lost. And I did, now it's here. 

It was much easier to format, and a lot easier to link within.

I'll sleep well tonight

Sew Saturday

Today was project day.
The floor now meets the door, two out of four kids got their hairs cut, Pa began working on a new workbench for the garage (the boat is going sometime this week), I made cookies and still need to make a coffee cake, I got a lot of little nitpick duties off the list, picked up a roast to put in the oven tomorrow, caught up on emails, and did my Saturday sewing.  Two weeks out of two

Oh...and we got the shutters up on Wendy's bed.  I flipped them around and around and around and around trying to decide which way the knobs should go...on the inside or the outside...to the point where Pa just got fed up and screwed 'em in.  LOL  So tell me they look awesome so I don't make him change them.

And my sewing, I finally got one of the curtains made for under Wendy's bed...I'll do the other one next Saturday.  Now she can have a fort.  I incorporated some ribbons so that they can be tied shut or tied open like a sash.  The fabric is the same that I'm using for her quilt that I really really really need to finish. 

note the wire

In hindsight, I kinda wish I had only trimmed out two edges and left the outside plain, but it'll do.  And I'm not too fussy, I could have mitred my corners better, could have made better sure that both sides matched up, but miss W doesn't know the difference

Oh...and we also planned out the boys closet today, it'll be similar to Wendy's but have a few more shelves to accomodate 3 boys.  We'll start that sometime this week.  Our goal is to eventually redo all the closets, trying to live effectively in our small space.   

Cleaning out the inbox

I've gotten into this bad habit of letting emails sit in my inbox to answer someday.  Often when I'm sitting at the computer, my hands are full and I can't answer at that time.  Well...they've piled up, so let me tackle a few of them right here and now. 

Tania asked, today in fact:  what other colors are your kitchen chairs? i LOVE the idea of mismatching chairs. soooooo cool.  Well, you see...that wasn't really intentional.  We have 3 red chairs and one ivory chair.  I wanted 4 red chairs, but Lowes didn't have 4 kits when I bought and made them, and I always meant to go back to get another - and last time I checked (about 3 years too late) they don't sell them anymore.  Story of my life.  And that chair that the boys are on?  It needs to go.  It squeeks to the point of majorly annoying and more than once we've had guests who will sit in it and look at both Pa and I as if we're up to shenanigans (who, us??) and they think it's going to collapse right out from underneath them.  It's going to someday.   Wendy and Brian love the chair most right now, it tends to cycle around our table. If you sit on it and wiggle your butt it will squeek squeek squeek, and the aforementioned children think that's just great.

Heli asked/said:Fun to see the pictures, and I do remember visiting Becky well, remember the t-shirts we made:)?  Of course I do!  Do you still wear yours?

Sue T:  cute little gadget! how's it print?  It's my new best friend! Next to you, of course.

Kaciel said: I'd love to hear about Essential Oils  It's coming!

Anne said:   So put that stress in a box, lock it and throw out the key!!  Thank you - your comment meant a lot.  That and the fact that I have the right lens for the job in my shopping cart.


My sister said: Hey, are you getting rid of any cute ribbon? I need some for your Christmas gift! :D hahaha. Well, as a matter of fact, I am.  Should I send my favorite?  And what's up with you starting presents already, it's not even December yet?  Overachiever!

Heli said: Oh, I wish I could come garagesaling...:)  Me Too!!!  I'm ordering my passport next week tho, so perhaps some year I'll come garagesaling there!

My sister asked: Can I still send it, or should I keep it for myself?  Send it!  Whatever it is!

My sister again:  New printer?! WHAT? but... but... You already have the coolest printer ever! Are you being GREEDY?  Totally. I'm more of a tech-nerd than I thought!

Jan asked: Won't you go crazy if you have to walk far from your desk to get supplies? I do worry about that.  I think we're going to try and get a little more mileage from our table by doing the bench thing for awhile.  It's just hard to have company for dinner.  what's really sad, too, is that my patio table is larger than my kitchen table.

Barbie said: Thanks for that kick in the butt I needed! :)  Anytime! :)

I'm up to 9/17 now, btw...

Jan said: First pecan pie, now blueberry crumble and zucchini bread? Man alive. It must smell great at your house! Totally.  Today we're shooting for coffee cake and chocolate chip cookies.  After lunch.

Maureen asked: Silly question....what does 2 bags of chicken mean? Does chicken come in a bag? yeah...sometimes they sell the frozen breasts in bags at Meijers. Both theirs and Tyson come like this, I know.

Cami asked: But one question, do you have to plan your dinners around this shopping list? Or can you still make what you usually do and still follow the list?  I've never been good at meal planning.  Now I notice what I tend to do is say, 'hey...we have pork chop and chicken in the freezer, which one should we have for dinner?  We used to have a frozen food service that delivered 6 months of food at a time...so this feels familiar to me in that way.  I mentally know what we have so I just make my decision in the morning (if it's a good day) and go from there.

Judy asked in regards to my stamps:   If those are the ones you are getting rid of, how many do you have?  Heh. 

Lisa asked: are you going play at the virtual crop at One page at a time?  I never did make it over there, but I appreciated the heads up.  It would have been fun if that day wasn't so busy on the homefront

Janell shared: When my boys were little, I had a "playground, park or pool" rule. I took them to one of those places every single day for a few hours, and they slept like logs at night. Hope your nights get better! I totally love this tip, and I'm going to save it for next year.  I need Markie to be just a little bit bigger for me to be that ambitious. He has to start carrying his own weight, basically.  We do walk every morning tho, so it's a start.

Amanda O snarked:   How about a challenge, like making a page that doesn't match. :-P  Smart Aleck!  LOL

Sue A awarded: And the winner of the "Most improved Desk" is....Yours!!!  Thanks!  You pickin' up my prize over there in Chicago?

Stefanie confessed: Um, I'm going to need that Etsy link. Desperately.  Ask and you shall receive, albeit almost exactly a month later

Jan D. commented:Sharyn, I love your family stories.....You make my day and give those children extra hugs and kisses for me.  This comment made me smile - thank you

Kacie commented:Hi, I'm one of your lurkers. :) I always love your photos. That last one is absolutely stunning. Thanks for your blog! Kacie (a former East-side Michigander) Thank you - I find myself keeping these 'made me smile' comments in my inbox.

Betsey said:  Just wanted to tell you how much I look forward to your new entries. You have a way with words that just fascinates me. Hugs.  Again...thank you. And hugs back at ya

Jan asked on 8/15 Then who died?!!! It was a different librarian

Kesti queried: Wire? I didn't even know that IKEA sold wire? Where have you been?  And there will be a photo this evening...I actually put it to work today

Jan also mentioned: Wire?!!! What's the deal with that? Hold onto your seat...photo coming later!

Donna Moore said: And this is why I love Tormville! Seriously waiting to hear about the nanny in Finland though.  What would you like to know?  I keep meaning to get back to this.  I was a nanny for a year, 3 children...two families.  My one recommendation is to never ever ever ever nanny for two families at the same time.  ;)  How's that for a tease?

Amy also mentioned: I'm eagerly awaiting your Finland stories!  I did kinda leave ya'll hanging there, didn't I?  I apologize for that.  So ya want some Finland chronicles?

My sister-in-law: I think I need this.... $20 /3 girls to wear it and a lot of cute pictures for many Halloweens to come.. very justifiable.(is that a word?)  Very justifiable!  Did you buy it??

Sue said: This is so interesting. It's said that you are only 6/7 people away from anyone...maybe this mystery person will be found through your blog  I think that would be so cool. I've gotten some interesting hits from people googling things, so I think if someone were to google any of those names, I'd pop up. It's tucked away again in the cedar chest until I figure out what to do with it.

Brenda said:    I'll be toting my camera; need good photos for the "Torm made me pastis" page!  So how's that page coming, anyway?  LOL

On 7/16 now.  See how behind I was?? 

Judy asked:That Bed and Breakfast was it a huge log cabin type building? I think Jim and I saw that one on our way to Copper Harbor.  One in the same, isn't it a cool building?  Very pricey antique store tho - and I don't recommend going with kids, it's cozy.

Sue A asked: when are you going to post those pictures of Torm from back in the day of black leather jackets and bandana's? That wasn't my husband!  haha!  Ah...the 80's.

Sue T. asked: how many muu muu's do you have?  Just one. Would you like to borrow it?

Julie Wright asked: My question: How many TT stamp sets do you have in your stash now? Go ahead, make us all jealous! :)   Be jealous.  ;)

Whew...I think I'm all caught up now!  Any questions? 

 

Weekly photo share

Fall is in the air
The babys climbing stairs
There's paint on my cups
why?  Tomorrow I will share

LOL 
They just *pop* into my head sometimes, these poems. 

 

Looking for

a place to stay.  ;) 
I promised miss Looley that I would take her to the American Girl doll store for her 7th birthday, and well...despite all my bellowing at her to just quit growing - it's approaching rapidly so I need to get serious.

I might stay with my brother
It might be just Wendy and I going
It might be Wendy and I and Mark
It might be Wendy and I and Pa and Allan and Brian and Mark. 

What I'd love to know, because I'm not familiar with Chicago at all, is where is a good place to stay within spitting distance of the American Girl doll store

Thanks! 

Good Morning!!

First of all this morning, I need to say thank-you.  Thank you for all the anniversary wishes for Pa and I.  We did end up going out to eat, the first year in quite a few (I distinctly remember last year we went to Dairy Queen with all the kids) while grandma and grandpa babysat. 

We went to Bennigans since I had a buy one entree get one entree half off coupon.  You know me.  I had the cajun salmon platter and Pa had himself a nice big steak and potato.  Mine was just okay, but it was my own fault - I was worried about how the cajun would affect Markie, so I ordered it without the cajun on the waiters suggestion.  Cajun salmon is rather blah without the cajun.  Who knew? 

Afterwards we drove to town and power walked our meal off for a half hour.  I think I enjoyed that even more than dinner - that walking without strollers or whiners.  Divine.

So now it's Friday, and I gotta tell ya, it's been a good week.  I was telling a friend of mine the other day that it's weird - it's almost like there's some memo going around on the sly saying, psssst....send Torm something nice this week.  Seriously.  I've heard from long time lurkers (more than one),  another lurker emailed to congratulate me on having an ad (my first!) in the latest Simple Scrapbooks - I don't know if I would have known otherwise (and if anyone can send me a tear sheet...I'd love to see it), and well...that's just how it's gone all week.  Totally a great one - I have the best readers, seriously.

Some other fun things going on - I'm going to be a guest designer!  You can read more about it over here on Debbie's blog.   If you're not familiar with Debbie's work, take a few moments to look thru her album here.   Debbie does a fantastic job with two pagers and events, and that's exactly what her class is going to be about.  She also has a free sample class available for anyone that registers at NYSCraps.  Check it out.  Having worked with Debbie over this past year on her book, I can't wait to see what she comes up with for her class....she was consistantly amazing me with her attention to detail and her knack for organization.

More other news - I got this sassy little number this week.  I'm so excited because it took me less than 20 minutes to plug it in and figure it out.  I'm going to give it a little workout today - I'll let you know how it goes.  I also think I need to order this accessory before we go on our first trip together.  I often find myself taking a little bit of work with me when we go on vacation, so it'll be a whole new ballgame this time around.

Only  - we can't figure out when we're going on vacation this coming year.  For those of you who live by me, did you look at the school calendar?  They totally mixed spring break up this year and it does not follow Easter like it normally does. Throw me for a loop.  And Pa and I totally had it in our heads that we would go to Minnesota for Thanksgiving this year - it's the perfect time for us to travel because it's not Pa's busy time (summer) and the kids have a week off school.  But the same exact day we decided to do that, we heard that more than one of Pa's siblings are coming here.  And, if we stay home I really need to have dinner for my peeps.  My dad hasn't had a turkey in at least two years...last year we spent it with Pa's family, and the year before we were out of town.  And my sister-in-law said she *ain't* having dinner...something about being due that week....

So that's on my mind.  Also tossing around the idea of heading to Hershey Pennsylvania next Memorial Day weekend.  See how my mind works - always thinking ahead.

And Pa - he blew thru here yesterday at about one in the afternoon.  Seems something was falling apart over there in the Gary, Indiana area and off he went to the rescue.  He'll be home in time for supper.  We hope.  I've got drumsticks thawing.

What else?  World Cardmaking Day is coming up quickly, fall is in the air, Allan woke up to my alarm before I did this morning, and I think it should be a law that you're not allowed to complain about the bed and sleep if you're not in your own.  Somehow both Brian and Wendy came in with me last night and then they have the nerve to complain about the conditions.  "Brian's poking me"  "Looooooooley" whines Brian.  Go to your own bed, I say, and then they both quieted down quickly.

hmph.

Have a great weekend everyone!
and be good

 

If anyone knows

the trick

to get a lunging giggly 8 month old

to sit still for even one iota of a second

so that I can try to capture his silly grin

without having to get his brother to hang him upside down
 
I'd love to hear it....cuz even upside down didn't work real great. 
And now he wants to do that all the time

Today's Funny

It's a daily routine of mine to sit down with Allan after school and go over the day with him, one on one.  We go thru the day class by class, I ask him what was the best part of the day, the worst, and so on.  We've been doing this since the first day of kindergarten.  The trick, I've learned, is in knowing what to ask, and to never ask yes or no questions.  ie: rather than asking him if he had a good day, I ask for the best part and the worst part.  It's what works for us. 

So today I asked him about science and his group work.  Allan prefers to work alone, but part of growing and learning is to learn to work in groups as a team.  He's getting better.  When I asked him about today he said his group is great - it's him and two girls. 

Where we live, Allan goes to school with quite a few second cousins.  And Allan, being his father's son, is wretched with names.  Wretched is an understatement.  But I tried, for the heck of it,  "What are their names?"   

"I dunno"  Figured. 

So - this next question doesn't usually garner much better results as faces are as much of a blur to him as are names, but I'd thought I'd try.  "Are either of them a cousin?" 

"Nope"
His answer was so quick, I was actually surprised...usually he hems and haws and I don't knows.   

"So, uh...well, how do you know?" 

"Well, because one is Asian......."