What I've Been Up To

This summer has been a relatively productive one as far as finishing projects is concerned. I love to start projects. My problem is finishing projects for me. Those that I start for others do get done and gifted, but those I do for myself tend to get pushed back. This summer, I completed two afghans (which I gave away without taking pictures), a baby quilt (of which I also forgot to take a picture) and the following:

The leper bandage I started my freshman year of college. It was supposed to be a service project/teaching how to crochet project. This is actually my second leper bandage, and I already knew how to crochet, but it took me six years to finish it.

The summer after I graduated high school, my friend Jennie and I decided to make quilts. We found the pattern, bought the fabric, and I even cut out the pieces. The idea was that we would each sew the top together (I would do it at college) and then we'd quilt them when I came home for Christmas. Seven years later, I finally finished it. It will be a while before I do another quilt similar to it. I actually got most of it done a few months ago, but after a minor mishap with the hand quilting, I had to put it away for a few months until I felt friendly towards it again. It is a twin size quilt, but I have no idea where to put it. Still, it is nice to finally have it off my "to do" list.

The oldest of all my projects dates back to elementary school. I learned to cross stitch when I was little. I found a book of Mother Goose Rhymes with Mice. I thought it was very cute and decided to do "Jack and Jill" (of course). I had a few frustrations with this when I was younger, and I didn't get very far. The summer after I got married, I decided to try to get it done, and I made a lot of progress. In fact, I finished everything except the grass part. This summer, I finished the grass and did all the black outlining, which took FOREVER. Still, the thought that I was almost done (and Kyle wouldn't let me start another project until it was done) kept me going. You can see the stains from the masking tape that was on the original. You can also see a faint outline of where I had it on a round frame (I haven't had it on a frame for a long time). I don't mind the stains, since they are part of the story. I believe this has taken me about 13 years, start to finish. Now all I have to do is frame it. Fortunately, that kind of thing doesn't take me nearly as long.

I've also had a lot of fun with my family. Becca is getting very big. A week and a half ago, I decided to start potty-training. I wish I'd thought of it sooner, but I wasn't prepared. I wanted to do it at a time when most of the burden would be on me, not on her babysitter. Kyle's been watching Becca a lot this summer between classes and when he didn't have work. Becca's only "sign" of readiness was that she liked to sit on the toilet and had gone potty once or twice in the toilet. Two weekends ago, I decided to just go for it since we had a few weeks before Kyle starts Fall semester. I bought the training underwear on Saturday morning and put them on Becca after she woke up from her nap. She got really good at telling me when she had gone potty in her underwear and I got to clean my floors a lot. Fortunately, most of my time was spend in the kitchen/dining room where we have hard floors . . . a lot easier to clean than carpet. To make a long story short, I've left underwear on her ever since, except during naps and at bed time, and at church. She's done really well, with some days being accident free, and some days having one or two accidents. Today, she was 100% accident free. We still have to work on naps and bed, but she's woken up dry from her naps for at least the last three days, so I'm hopeful we'll get through that aspect soon. I'm so grateful Becca was able to pick it up quickly. I feel we were lucky she was able to do so. It is what we needed. Our next option would have been Christmas, when I get time off of work. Now our problem is that she uses going potty as an excuse to leave Sacrament Meeting, prolong bedtime, and get a break from anything else she doesn't want to do.

As the picture shows, Becca loves our dogs. She is sitting on Duke, who is an amazinly mellow dog. Duchess is next to them. Duchess is a bit hyper, but still a great dog. Becca loves to help feed the "Puppies" and go outside to play with them. She is such an amazing little girl. She has her days when we get frustrated, but it is part of growing up. She loves to help me with anything I do. As soon as I start cooking, she runs in, "Help me, help me!" (Which actually means, "I want to help you.") She still loves to dance, and she loves to play outside. She wants to do anything we do. She is wonderful.