Valentine's 2011 & Spoils from IKEA

Valentine's Day has never really been a big deal to me. I like to get flowers, that much is true, and to ask for them a couple of times a year is okay, I think. If Valentine's Day gives me that excuse, then so be it. I just mean I'm not crazy about it. Kevin usually takes me out for dinner as well (it's an excuse to eat out), but this year, we have all had this really bad cold and has inhibited our ability to taste anything, so he decided he didn't want to waste money on food we couldn't taste. He did buy me flowers though... last minute... at Wal-Mart, but it's the thought that counts, right? They're not too bad looking.


He also bought me some chocolate truffles that he and Abi have been helping me eat the past couple of days.

Today, Kevin got home from work early and wanted to go to IKEA. We haven't been in a while and it's a new year, so I figured they'd have some new stuff out. So we went and had lunch there and shopped around. Several hours later we emerged, much like every other time we come out of IKEA, with things for Abi. It's so easy to spoil your kids. I swore to myself that my kids wouldn't be spoiled, but it's SO easy.

Anyway, Abi fell in love with two things while we were shopping:

A play tent (mostly because her cousin Riley has the same one and she had so much fun playing in it)

And a chair that's so obviously made just for her because it's small.


See what I mean? Spoiled. The phrase, "just say no" does come to mind, but so often I'm saying "no" while Kevin is putting whatever "it" happens to be in the shopping cart. I lose every time.

Won't You Meet "My Neighbor?"

I've finished another project for the year. Meet Totoro.




Before you say anything, yes, the pattern I found is for the blue Totoro (see a few posts down to refresh your memory) and, no, I'm not color blind nor am I incapable of counting (the little points on his tummy). I decided to make Abi's Totoro the grey one mostly because Wal-Mart didn't have the right blue and I didn't want to go across the street to the craft store to see if they might have it. Call me lazy, but I'll call it "making it my own." I still didn't get the right amount of points on the tummy for grey Totoro, but as long as Totoro purists don't send a lynch mob after me, I think it'll be just fine.

For those of you who are unfamiliar with this character, let me just quickly fill you in. My Neighbor Totoro is a Japanese kids movie made by Hayao Miyazaki (who also made the films Spirited Away, Princess Mononoke, and Ponyo to name a few). This movie was a staple for my husband and his siblings growing up, though I never even heard about it until I was in college.



Abi likes it, and that's all that matters to me.

Count your Blessings

I was looking at the website Jake of the Web and he has this video of some of the flooding that happened in Australia and all I could think of was how grateful I am to live where I do and for the blessing of being safe. Mother Nature is definitely a force to be reckoned with.

Resolution and Reflection

The beginning of a new year gives everyone a great opportunity to reflect and make goals for the upcoming year. We all do it and we all succeed or fail to some degree. I have found that I have a habit of failing more than succeeding, but that may just me being hard on myself. Let's take a look at last year. Here were the goals I published on the blog:

1. Lose weight & exercise (but honestly, who doesn't make this one?)
2. Scrapbook (I haven't even begun this one yet)
3. Read more often (scriptures, books, everything)
4. Stick to a budget
5. Be a better person- all around improvement.

And here's how I did:

1. Nope, I probably gained weight over the year, in fact, I'm sure I did.
2. Nope, again. Not a single page.
3. Not really. I did read every one of my Food Network Magazines that I got each month, but that's about the extent of it.
4. Yeah, I did okay. We went through a time when our income was the lowest it's ever been and I still managed to put money into savings every month. Tithing sure is a blessing.
5. This one was a little vague, but it think I have improved in some ways. I think I have matured a little bit and I look back over the past year (it was kind of a tough one) and I think I have remained pretty positive throughout. I'm a worrier, so that's sort of saying something.

So as you can see, I didn't do as well as I had hoped, but, like I said, the start of a new year is a great opportunity to turn a new leaf and try again. Here's my list for this year.

1. Lose weight, even if it's just a few pounds so I can get into my jeans with little to no effort.
2. Read scriptures and have family and personal prayers every day.
3. Plan menus and stick to them. Kevin has already told me that he'll eat whatever I fix, so if I make a new recipe and he doesn't want to eat it... well, I'll just kindly remind him what he said to me.
4. Plan a temple night once a month.
5. Have some kind of Family Home Evening or family activity once a week. Just the three of us (well, four if you include Oakley).
6. Knit. I know how to knit, but I want to become really good at it. I want to make myself a sweater or something before the year is over.
7. Read a new book every month. Book, not magazine.

I have made a good head start this month. I found a knitting book with a few patterns the I like and have even finished my first project.

I knitted a sweater for Abi. It was fairly easy, but probably the largest and most complex project I have ever knitted. (I've only ever knitted scarves in the past.)




It turned out really cute, I thought, though it's a little big.


The size on the pattern said 1-2 years and I double-checked the gauge. It's spot-on. Oh, well. She can wear it next year as well. There is a variation on this pattern that I want to try, so I'll do it in a smaller size, but not bad for my first try, right?

I have also found a new pattern for my next crocheted toy. (I know I said I wanted to work on knitting, but I love crocheting toys for Abi)

It's Totoro! And isn't he just adorable?
Here's the pattern.

I also have read a book for the month of January. I read The Choice by Nicholas Sparks and if you want to read my review of the book, check out my post on our Schmidt family cooking/book club blog.

New Year 2010

I thought I should mention our New Year celebration. This year, like most, we went to my parents' house for dinner, games and movies. It's really casual and lots of fun. This year was no different. Mel and Tim brought their Wii and Amber (my soon-to-be-sister-in-law) brought a dancing game for it which we played until 3 or so in the morning.

Here's a video of the dance game (sorry, it's kind of dark). Sarah got some nice close-ups on this one. My brother Charles is a dancing machine. It's embarrassing. Enjoy!



I had a great time, except for the fact that Kevin had to work early the next morning and had to leave the party early.

Christmas Projects

This year I mentioned I made a lot of the gifts we gave away. I only continue to mention it because it's not normal for me. I'm not a particularly crafty person, but that may be just because I haven't really sat down and stuck with something until I was finished. Here's what I made this year.

Baby bears and blankets for Karina and Bridget

A whole bunch of slippers

I also did a purple pair and a blue pair. If you want to make them yourself, here's the pattern


Gromit and Shaun

And pajamas for Rowan, Riley and Savannah
Riley's


Rowan's


and Savannah's

Christmas 2010

Christmas this last year was really something I was looking forward to. I thought that Abi would be old enough to really get excited about opening presents. I made lots of homemade gifts. I was able to decorate a little bit. And now it's all over. *sigh* Well, it was great and we had lots of fun. Here's the rundown.

At the Armitstead house, we had Christmas on the 24th because of work conflicts. We had dinner, our annual everybody-bring-something-that's-fun-to-eat potluck. Kevin and I make takoyaki which are little balls (like round pancakes) with stuff inside of them. If anyone has had aebleskivers before, they're sort of the same thing but smaller and they usually have octopus inside of them. We were fresh out of octopus, so we used imitation crab. They were better with the crab, I thought.

After dinner we opened gifts, letting Abi and Savannah open first, since they have the shortest attention span. The first couple of presents they ripped into with as much enthusiasm as I had hoped for, but after not too long the already opened presents became a unanticipated distraction and we had to really coax them to open the rest.

Coloring books

"Trying on" her new jammies

Karina's first Christmas. Doesn't she look excited?

Lots of new clothes

Oakley opening her treats. She's licking her lips in anticipation.

New baby dolls...

and cradles made by Grandpa.

We're taking this one to church. It's a great quiet toy.

Abi's main gift was a kitchen play set which we saved for last, which was a good thing, since it was a hit and all the little girls wanted to play with. In fact, it kept them occupied while us big kids were opening our gifts.

Kevin "wrapped" this one.

The next morning, my younger brother, who is serving a mission in Washington state, got to call home. Kevin had to work early Christmas morning, so Abi and I rushed over to Grandma and Grandpa Schmidt's house to get a chance to talk with him. We made there before he called and were able to talk to him. We each took a turn.




Well, except for Abi. She thought it would be more fun to look for Grandma's cat instead.



Then we made a huge mess opening presents, and just enjoyed each other's company for the rest of the day. My dad was into the homemade present mood this year too and made a table and chairs for Abi, a hutch and animal chairs for Riley and a shelf and crates for Rowan to put his toys in. They are all so neat and Grandpa worked so hard on all of them. (though I didn't get pictures yet, oops)



Later that evening, Kevin stopped by after her got off work and opened his gifts.


And since we were all already there, we took a family portrait.

The only one you can't see is Bridget. She's hiding behind Tim's head.

So, all-in-all, Christmas was great. I can't thing of a better way to spend the end of a year.