Just curious. I’m getting tired of hiding my dislike for people who ask me how much longer I have and grimace when I tell them. In fact, I’m not sure I’m hiding it very well at all. They all know I’m really thinking, “Go stick your head in a toilet. Preferably one in the men’s room.”

Also, I had an epiphany of sorts today. I think that Juliet was sent to our family for the sole purpose of making everyone happy. When a new baby comes into a family there’s usually someone who is not totally thrilled (or if they are, they become disenchanted quickly), but not so for little Juliet. Joseph thinks the sun shines out her you-know-what, Seth loves her to pieces, and Catherine adores her, of course. She can do no wrong, I tell you. They would do anything for her. I can ask one of them to pick up some dirty clothes off the floor for me and it usually ends up with a straight-up “no” or some sort of screaming fit on the floor, but if I were to ask them to go get Juliet’s bear for her, they would go in a heartbeat.

And as for hubby and me, no matter what kind of bad mood we’re in, she can make us smile just by being her cute little self. She’s got a way about her. . .

We discovered today that her sound for what a horse says is a hybrid between a cow and a sheep. Adorable.

Okay, we’ve had a pretty eventful week. Lots of stuff going on and my house is absolutely reflecting that fact. The Infant Car Seat Recovering PDF is selling much better than I had expected which has kept us busy with sending emails and what-not. (p.s. that link might send you to a sold out listing. If you want to buy one, just click in to the shop and there will be more there).

Dave set up two swings in our front yard out of his climbing gear and the kids think it is the best thing since sliced bread. And every other kid in the neighborhood. They come with their own natural shade, it’s fab. The swings come with their own shade, not the neighborhood kids, that is.

We went to pick cherries at a nearby orchard this week. Cheap and fun! Last year no one had any because of the late frost, but somehow they survived this year (botany is beyond me, the freeze was just as late and more severe this year). We always end up eating just as much as we put in our baskets:

In fact Juliet didn’t have a bag, she just ate. They all have different picking styles. Catherine is very meticulous and only picks the best ones (ending up with very few but beautiful cherries), Joseph picks anything in reach, and Seth picks from one tree once he finds a good one.

Joseph read his first word by himself. The word was “fat.” This is how I know it wasn’t memorized or guessing:)

I’m not about pushing the kids into something they’re not ready for, so I haven’t really bothered to start teaching him to read (he’s 3). He knows all the letter sounds, so theoretically he was ready to take the first step, but I guess I wasn’t He brought me the tiles from that stupid game we have, What’s Gnu?, and asked me to make a word. There were about seven tiles in the pile, so I made a word and sounded it out for him. We did this about three times with three different words and then I put down FAT and he read it. So here we go again! If things go the same way with Joseph and Juliet as they have with Catherine and Seth (both sets are about 18 months apart), then Julies will be reading before I know it. *hyperventilating* How can I get her to stop growing? It’s cruel, I tell you.

Also the fire department came and tested our fire hydrant and the kids thought that was fantastically entertaining. We also went to see the Manti Pageant and it was. . . well. . . interesting? Not what I was expecting, but it was a fun family outing.

And I feel a lot like Juno these days. “I’m a planet.” and I have “heart burn radiating in my knee caps.” So fun. A checker at the grocery store asked me when my due date was (Aug 1) and she said “Wow, so you have a ways to go, huh?” (but by the look on her face, that meant, “Wow, how can you have six weeks to go and be so HUGE?”). Yeah. thanks for that.

Finally, my car seat cover tutorial is in my shop! You thought I’d never finish it, didn’t you? Yeah, me too:)

Dave’s off at Cub Scout day camp today getting soaking wet in the freezing rain. So sad. I was really hoping he’d have an awesome time like I did last year! We’ve had the strangest weather I’ve seen in all the ten years I’ve lived here. LOTS and LOTS of rain. I heard that we’ve gotten 200% of our usual rainfall for the month of June. I guess considering the fact that the first four or five years I lived here we were in a drought, this is quite a stark contrast for me. Plus, we haven’t even hit summer weather yet! It was warm for a week or so, but since then we’ve had 60′s and 70′s. I’m SO not complaining, just totally weirded out!

Peace to your mother.

**EDIT** Holly pointed out that I didn’t mention the price! It is only $4.75 and there should always be at least one in my shop, except on Sundays (that’s my day off, so if they sell out on Sunday I would relist them Monday morning). Thanks to everyone who has already purchased one, I am overwhelmed by the response to this tutorial!

Tags: children, handmade, pattern, tutorial, pdf, carseat, car, seat, cover, infant, recover, utahetsy, baby, sewing