My Thrifty, Crafty Projects of Late

I always shun decorating my own house because we have been entirely transient for the duration of our married life and I can't stand hauling superfluity around with us wherever we go. Granted, I do have a few decor items that hold remarkable sentimental value, but they all fit into one diaper box. Our walls are mostly bare, but I've grown to greatly appreciate the minimalistic sense of calm they lend to the inevitably cluttered floor (thank you, children).

At long last, I broke down and decided to make some Valentine's Day decorations. I started with a small vinyl quote for my front door, and then made a heart to hang on the wall in our family room. The heart turned out so well that I figured I could make a matching bunting. Then, I discovered yards of hot pink tulle at the bottom of my fabric bin and...voila! I had a darling little lovey-dovey-yet-funky-pseudovintage vignette that I'm crazy about. The best part: I made the heart and bunting from diaper boxes, some old WSJ pages, and paint I already had lying around the house. FREE! Those are my favorite kind of projects.













Now I'm hooked and I can't wait to get going on my St. Patrick's Day creations. Nine years later, I guess it's high time I add a little holiday cheer to the family, right? My kids love it and so do I, once I get the decorations up and forget about the hassle of storing them later. Cheers, everyone!

Caped Crusader Conquers the Commode

After months of my lamest attempt ever at trying to talk Rex into using the potty and forsaking diapers for good, he woke up last Sunday and said "I need to go potty!" Upon completion of this fabulous task, he wanted to wear undies. I couldn't believe my eyes and ears. From that moment on, he never went back to diapers (except at night, but even those are staying dry...yay!). It is grand to only have one child in diapers.


For an awesome reward, Adam indulged Rex's superhero obsession and bought him these rockin' Batman jammies. Of course, though, Rex wears them all day, every day and gets mad at anyone who calls them p.j.s. "They not jammies! They Batman clothes!" Excuse me.


I am proud of Rex, Adam is proud of Rex, the other kids are proud of Rex, and Rex is proud of Rex. Everyone wins!...


...and Batman flies off into the night.

Amber's Admirer

Today when Amber came home from school, I found this in her backpack:

Her teacher lets the students send "mail" to each other and a cute litte boy named Jacobi sent her this "how sweet you are beautiful" message. Cute! A few days later, he sent her a candy-gram at school. I think it's darling to see their crushes, especially near Valentine's Day.

Copycat Strut

My name is Case Clark and I'm learning new things every day. Mom and Dad think it's a blast to see me put my fountain of knowledge to use. I walk, talk a little, get into everything, wrestle my siblings and parents, head-butt people, pick my nose on cue and laugh my head off, and basically melt Mom's heart every day. I've developed quite a feisty little temper, too, which nobody loves, but when you're the youngest, what choice do you have? I have to assert myself somehow, I suppose. Here's a rundown of my best new discoveries:

Kitchen cabinets: pots and pans make the best noise in the house aside from whining children, especially when clanged on the floor while Mom is trying to make dinner. She loves it!

Amber's and Karli's closet is a treasure trove of soft, furry items with which I like to suck my thumb (just like my three older siblings do!).

First, I crawl...

Then I stand...

Then I make a run for the camera. Maybe one of these days Mom will let me snag it.

Yes, it is possible to have a wedgie when wearing a diaper. It happens when you suddenly outgrow your footed jammies.

Now that I'm such a big boy, I should start acting like one and guzzle milk straight from the jug. I will, after I've finished my giant gulp of milk, exclaim "disgusting!", "yummy", "Da Da", "Mommy", "shake", "play!" and I'll copy any other word anyone tells me. Yes, I'm brilliant and hilarious and everyone loves me!