Baby It's Cold Inside

I can honestly say that I was glad to see the end of last week. Most days I can see the sunny side of life, but on Wednesday that sunny outlook disappeared. Our furnace broke. And it decided to break in the dead of winter, when here in Ohio it gets into the teens with the windchill in the single digits. Not good.

This, dear friends, is why we rent. When we discovered that the indoor temp was quickly dropping and the furnace wasn't lighting, we quickly called the landlord who called a furnace company. Then ensued the drama... apparently a part needed to be ordered, it wouldn't be here until Monday or Tuesday, and until then there were various solutions. Solution  #1 involved pushing the reset button on the furnace to kickstart it into lighting....every 10-15 minutes.....yeaaaah, that wasn't working out well because at night I definitely wasn't going to wake up to push a darn button. So we woke up Thursday to a 43 degree house...bbbbbrrrrrrr!!! So again we called the landlord. He talked to the furnace guy and was told how to hot wire the furnace to bypass the reset. Well that worked out for a few hours, then the fire wouldn't light so again we had to call. So out came tons of space heaters.

Now we are Friday morning.... I wake up early to get space heaters going downstairs. I plug in three of them since the thermostat says it is 41 inside our house. 41 degrees!!!!! I go upstairs to get some more clothes on and come downstairs to a pitch black house. Of course! I blew a fuse with the space heaters! And who is too short to reach the box? ME! AHHHHHH!!!!! So I had to call Klint home from work and was definitely crying tears of despair when he came home.

We fix the fuse and decide to head out to grocery shop (and get warm), and give the space heaters a chance to warm up the house. What happens when we come home?? The house was COLDER!!!! AHHHHHHHHHH!!!!! So another call was made and finally the HVAC guy comes and properly hot wires the furnace for us. FINALLY we have heat that is consistent.

By Friday evening the house was warm again, I was in better spirits, and had a new appreciation for having a warm house. We still have to get through when the furnace is being fixed this week, I am dreading having it turned off again, but at least there is a permanent solution in sight. I am thankful as well that we are not having to pay for the repairs, a swift reminder of why we prefer renting to buying a house.

So that was our furnace drama, hopefully never to be repeated.

1 Month

(Month stickers were bought from this Etsy store!

Miss Moira,
 Today you are 1 month old and it seems like you have always been here but at the same time are still so new. I cannot believe how seamlessly you slipped into our lives, making this momma very thankful. I have bypassed most of the new mama exhaustion thanks to your easy nature, love of nursing, and all around mellowness. You are a champ at eating and are definitely sporting the multiple chin thing, which I find adorable of course! I find it funny that everyone calls you something different... Daddy calls you Nugget, the girls call you Mimi, and I call you Moira Marie or Chipmunk. (You love to store milk in your cheeks for later!)
 In this one month time I have gotten to know your personality and am already seeing some tiny changes in your eye color... I think you are going to be another Brown Eyed Girl, little love! You still have all your dark pretty hair and no bald spots since you prefer to sleep on your side. You love to look around at the kitties and make wonderful eye contact, which makes everyone smile, which makes you smile. =)
 I am 100% smitten with you my Chipmunk and can't wait to see what this month brings!

Crafty Goal #1- Learn to Crochet

There are so many different kinds of crafts out there and thanks to my "Crafters ADD" I have tried many. One skill that I have always envied is knitting and crocheting. This year I am going to not only learn how to crochet but also learn how to make Amigurumi toys for the kids. Amigurumi is the art of Japanese crocheted toys and are super cute. (If you don't want to make your own there are tons and tons for sale on Etsy!!)

But first I need to master some skills like reading a pattern and such. So I got a few books from the library, grabbed a hook, some skeins, and started my first project- a spring/summer skinny scarf! I chose a really pretty light blue Bamboo yarn and am making it really tight and skinny so I can wear it all the time. I am going to add some fringe to the bottom too, unless I make it an Eternity scarf- no ends, just one big circle.

We will see, but I am excited about my progress already!

The Great Laundry Debate

Ah! I wish my laundry space looked like this!
via here

One of my goals for the new year is to get a handle on our laundry. Right now we just have baskets in the rooms and bathroom upstairs, let them fill up, and then on Sunday do like 5 loads of laundry. It is time consuming, a pain to sit down and fold all of that at once, and is really a challenge since Gabby and AJ share a lot of the same clothes. So I am trying to come up with a new solution.

My idea is to assign each person a laundry basket and only their clothing goes in there, Then each day of the week one person's laundry will be done, making the sorting of laundry no longer an issue and allowing Gabby to be able to fold and put her own clothes away. One load a day is a lot nicer sounding to me than 5 or six. Plus I can keep an eye on AJ, who has many outfit changes throughout the day do no reason at all.... her clothing pile is always the largest and most of it was probably perfectly clean.

How do you handle laundry at your house? What is the easiest ways to tackle all the kids clothes? Mommies with little girls, do you have a "costume changer"?

Happy Beginnings

The calendar and many others for your desktop can be found here!

Hello 2011! I have to say that you are off to a fine start, filled with laughter, friends, cuddles, and love. Friends came to visit, children smiled and played, and memories were made. I am happy to say that even though 2010 was a fabulous year here at Casa de Krebs, I know that 2011 will be even better.

I have been looking at everyone's new year resolutions and have been jotting down my own ideas... There are some really simple ones as well as ones that will take more work on my part. Here are just a few!

♥ Write in my journal every night... even if it is just a thought or two
♥ Continue to dance and find peace and clarity in simply moving
♥ Yell less, whisper more...
♥ Try not to let the laundry add up to loads and loads, maybe figure out a new system like doing each persons laundry individually? More on this tomorrow...
♥ Get jiggy with the hubby more often... definitely a challenge with our crazy schedule!
♥ Create an awesome garden this spring, complete with veggies and flowers
♥ Reopen my Etsy store with a new direction and feel. After making all that stuff for the baby's room I am inspired to have more items with a simple feel to them.
♥ Spend less and find ways to use more of what we have in new ways...
♥ Get Zumba for the XBox Kinect and dance the pounds off.... I loooove this game!

Anyhow, those are some of my thoughts... nothing too crazy, everything doable. I am excited for this new year and fresh start, are you?

What a Year!!

Wow! I can't believe that we are in the last days of the year... and what a year it has been!! From a new little person in my life to deciding to homeschool Gabby, this year has got to be one of my busiest and best. My marriage is stronger than ever, we are financially standing on somewhat solid ground (knock on wood!), everyone is healthy, and we have so much to be thankful for this year. There are some days that definitely stick out in my head though this year....

Gabby losing her first tooth

Catching fireflies

AJ and Sophia... they love each other so much!

AJ turned 3 this year

Our family grew... an unexpected Christmas surprise!

We discovered a very cool festival and already are saving up for this summer

Raspberry picking was awesome and sooo yummy!

Gabby started playing sports

Klint got his first tattoo

Somehow I grew and lost a lot of weight... all at the same time! 

We had so much fun in the sun.... these little girls love the Splash Park!

But most importantly... this year was filled with a lot of love and happiness! Happy New Year everyone and see you next year!!!!

Favorite Crafts Tutorials from 2010

This was a pretty crafty year for me since I had a whole nursery to decorate and so many fun things to make! Here are my favorite crafts and tutorials from 2010!

Butterfly Chandelier found here

Patchwork Pillow found here

Sock Owl found here

Pocket Pillow found here

HUGE Strawberry Pillows found here

Baby Bunting Quilt found here

Baby Change Kit found here

Plushy Angry Bird Characters found here

I am sure that there are more, but these are my favorites!!!!

Happy Crafting and see you tomorrow!

Getting Readjusted...

Today my little one is exactly 3 weeks old and while in some ways I have needed more time to adjust to this new routine, in many ways life just continued on as normal. My own children to care for, other children to care for (a new family started the week that I came home from the hospital!), pets to be looked after, laundry... it is all there. I am enjoying this new person in my life though... she is definitely an easy, mellow baby, who already heard the sounds in the sometimes chaotic house, therefore, when I have to raise my voice or there is nuttiness going on she can sleep right through it all. Thank goodness!

Moira definitely has a personality already. She is calm and likes to push away from me to look around her environment. She will fuss if I don't nurse her as quickly as she wants and man oh man is she a messy eater! Most days I have at least a couple outfit changes for me and her as she somehow gets milk on my arms, legs, her whole upper body, lol! I have started wedging a small washcloth between her chin and me to catch all the run off... but at least I know she is eating well. Well enough, in fact, that she gained a whole pound and then some in the first two weeks of her life!

But aside from the baby, most normalcy has returned. There are still some things we need to fix, like getting a bigger vehicle, but all in all... I am getting readjusted quite well!

Oh.... and I just bought these for Miss Moira's monthly photos.... aren't they genius?! The seller has tons of fun designs and they are way cheaper than actually making onesies with the design on it!

Happy Holidays from the Krebs!

Happy Holidays and a very Merry Christmas from all of us to you!
I am going to take the next couple of days to enjoy my newly improved family,

and will see you all next week.

May your days be merry and bright!!!!!

It's Snowing Snowmen!

I love snow, making snowmen outside, and any craft that has to do with snowmen. I am making these cookies with the girls later today and doing this craft this week!

This is the icing recipe I use, really simple recipe!

What favorite snowman craft do you have or remember doing as a child?

My favorite is always taking different sized white buttons and making snowman cards with the kids... 

easy and so cute to give to relatives with homemade gifts!