Stewarts in Arizona: February 2011

Sunday, February 13, 2011

Random Pictures...

Our Raymond Art pictures look beautiful in our front room. The wreath is a gift from when we got married. It's made of olive branches. Notice the symbolism next to Christ? :)

Brandon's studio. It has been so nice to have a ROOM devoted to his work. Especially since he now has 30 students - private piano and some group voice lessons. I can't tell you the wonderful world I now enjoy that is SANITY. Brandon's such a good dad and tries to work with Ashley every morning before school. She's a lucky girl!

His beloved desk. (He also has matching file cabinet and bookshelf.) Notice the old time phone. He's so proud of it. It has a good speaker phone. I think it makes him feel important. Haha.

Our green, hawaiian bedroom. Those are pictures we took in Hawaii. We'll eventually have curtains, hawaiian art, etc etc. I'm keeping it classy though. :) We love the green. It's like living in green, lush Hawaii.

This is just a favorite, CHEAP find from IKEA. Don't know what I'll make it into yet, but I love it.

Just Because I Feel Like It

A Special Treat

I went to use the toaster the other day and found this...

At first I couldn't figure out what it was either. And then I knew. A melted Dora DVD.

NICE.

DEAD BIRD

A couple days ago we all watched as a little, tiny bird tried to find cover beside this bird house that Ashley built with Papa.

We very quickly realized it wasn't ok. It flopped around a bunch, and then we saw it die. Right in our backyard.

Later the next day, I heard Ashley shriek. I ran to find Dallin HOLDING the bird. The poor, tiny little, lifeless bird. He was fascinated. We had a huge hand washing session after that. His favorite Diego sandles were found at the scene of the crime, and they stayed there. Yuck.

I MADE BREAD!

Yes, I, Heather Stewart, hereby made bread. Wheat bread to be exact. I'm so proud. I didn't even skip a single ingredient. I made three loves of yummy, healthy, lip-smacking bread.

I felt like a pioneer. So domestic.

Notice the corn bowl. I think I need more big mixing bowls. :)

I got to punch the dough and everything. All sorts of rising was involved. Very complicated. :)

Oh, and see that heart shaped teaspoon?! I seriously love my heart shaped measuring spoons that my mother in law Terri gave me, and I get SO much joy from them. I smile every time I use them. Every time! (One of them was recently crunched up in the garbage disposal. It was a very sad day. My precious!)

Look at that beauty. I don't know if it's any cheaper to make homemade bread because we already ate the first two loafs, in a couple days. I also laugh because of how lumpy it is. Most other people's bread is smooth and rounded. It's my first time people! Give me a break. :)

P.S. You know it's a big deal when someone takes the time to document it. :)

I finally cut it...

This is right after his long Sunday nap, so yeah. A bit tousled.

I cut Dallin's hair. It was long, but oh so cute (see the first post and Dallin's Beiber hair). I'm always a little sad everytime I cut that beautiful, thick hair. Did I mention that he has those long, black eyelashes too? Boys. They get all the goods.

Anyway, the whole process was kind of dramatic. I quickly cut it in the bathtub. (I have to seize the moment if ever I get an inkling of desire.) I drained the tub, cut it, then wiped it up as best I could and rinsed. After the first couple snips, Dallin looked down and went into shock. I mean, these were two inch lops of hair all over his body - so I understand. He freaked out, and I quickly tried to cut the rest. Not the best haircut, but he needed it.

Drama in the Stewart Home

When: Wednesday February 9th 2011

Where: Our House

Time: Approximately 9:30PM

The problem?

This

And This

It started just like any other night. The kids in bed, Brandon and I watching TV. Me in my big red robe. You know the story. And then it came....

BEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEP!! BEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEP!! CARBON MONOXIDE!!!!!!!!!!!

BEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEP!! BEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEP!! CARBON MONOXIDE!!!!!!!!!!!!

The sound was deafening. The children were screaming! I mean, it was dramatic people.

We opened every window and door and got the kids out of bed. We all huddled by the door. The low that night was 36 degrees.

The alarm eventually went off, and the kids went back to bed. We closed the doors but kept the windows open. At about 10:30PM we hear....

BEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEP!! BEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEP!! CARBON MONOXIDE!!!!!!!!!!!

BEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEP!! BEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEP!! CARBON MONOXIDE!!!!!!!!!!!!

Again, the whole dramatic process. Dallin kept talking about the "firetrucks are coming".

We checked the battery, and checked for errors. Then we called the gas company. In about an hour a nice man was here with a Ghost Busters looking machine to check our home. I was grateful he was thorough - like, in our attic thorough. He figured out that when our oven starts up, dangerous levels of carbon monoxide are emitted. We still don't know why it took so long after dinner (a simmering soup on the stove, and corn bread in the oven) to trigger the alarm. But maybe our house is just too tightly closed up and the combo of the oven, stove, and candles proved too much. We'll be calling about that oven being replaced.

We got to bed at 1am. We haven't had the problem since, but every night Dallin asks "Is the fiyoh suck (fire truck) wid da Cahbun Onoxide comin?"

SO EXCITED!

It seriously brings me so much joy to say that I have finally found a few decorating items that I love. For a little while I felt a lot of self imposed pressure to "outfit" my home. We read an awesome article in the Ensign about learning to be content with material things and focusing more on what's really important. And so it gave us courage to slow down and just think differently about decorating our home. We decided to set a budget on home stuff and not be so concerned about getting it all decorated. I was patient, and I finally found some items that really help to beautify our home, and they were all pretty good prices at Target and Ross. Yay for me! There are other things we could get right now, but we're limiting ourselves and making sure it's not our main focus. I know I'm much happier when I focus on raising my two beautiful kiddos! With all that said, these few simple items bring me joy because they add beauty, and remind me that patience and a budget really pay off.

Love these Target pillows. That's probably because I love chevron and quatrefoil patterns with a passion, flowers-especially ones that add texture, and I LOVE all these colors! The other sides of these pillows are awesome too.

Ok, so first you must understand this is at night, so nothing looks as amazing. However, I love this art. I have been searching for some big art for our big walls. I don't like art that means nothing to me, but not everything can be like our pictures of Christ and the temple we have in the front room. I was so excited to find these at Ross because they really bring in a clean, beautiful feeling into my home and remind me of nature and God's creations. Love it.

Love this vase (so natural looking) and these scrumptious flowers. I love pink. It's the "IN" color this year, ya know? But that's not why I like it. So beautiful and natural, and so cheap at Target.

This picture really has weird lighting, but this is an upclose of a napkin/placemat thing I found at Target on clearance. I love the pattern and the yellow color, and think I may frame it someday as a part of an eclectic wall above our couch. For some reason it reminds me of an older fabric, and makes we feel more domestic.

Hmmm..... Quatrefoil. Love it. And love the green. And love the gravy bowl my mom gave me. And love the white.

So, there you have it. Some of my favorite things. And guess what, I don't really have a set color scheme. I have an aqua type blue, pink, yellow, green, neutrals and brown/dark furniture, whites and a white kitchen with gray and white marble countertops. I love it. And I love the freedom that comes from knowing I don't need to stick to one or two colors. It's so me.

Saturday Chores

The past two Saturdays we have implemented Family Saturday Chores. It has been awesome, even and especially in the midst of all this sickness. So nice to have a clean house so you can worry about other things! The kids just LOVE it. I'm not kidding. Ashley couldn't wait until we started cleaning this past Saturday. She has a list, and she must learn each week a little more about vacuuming and cleaning her bathroom. She also folded some laundry, tidied and cleaned all toys, and pulled her sheets and blanket off the bed to be washed. Dallin sort of helps with all the same things. And then they help us with random stuff. We're all working together and right next to each other. It seriously made us so happy. Who ever said Saturday chores weren't fun?!

Our newly and mostly organized toy loft.

We've been sick...

So sick! And we are tired of it. This cold has just taken a hold of us and won't let go. The kids are getting better, but Ashley STILL constantly deals with a face full of dried snot and they both have a very contagious sounding cough (at least that's what I would think if I was the family in front of us in church today.) In my defense, we haven't been to church in forever and it sure seems that after 2-3 weeks we shouldn't be as contagious. Also, everyone has the cold anyway.

We were tested for Strep and the Flu, and it's neither. Just a nasty cold that seems to have made a second wave for me and is just now starting on Brandon. The saddest thing is we have missed out on hanging out with Jerilyn, her mom, a fun date night with choir friends, and an invite to Sunday dinner! :( This too shall pass.

For now, you can look at this cute picture of Dallin when he was feeling sick (but not the worst of it), and Ashley the day after her fever broke. Looking at these pictures I realize they are such good kids, and they try their hardest to be happy. They are both wearing their favorite pajamas. Dallin's is his Harry Potter t-shirt - the smallest size my mom could find!

Friday, February 4, 2011

Lovin' Family Life...

Just thought I'd post some pictures. Our little ones are getting not so little! By the end of this month I will have a 6 year old and a 3 year old! They're both still my babies...

Justin Beiber hair, haha....