Survival Crafting

So. I'm sitting here watching my right leg swell up and turn black and blue and thought I would put this time to good use by diligently sharing with you some of the little changes going on around the house. 

In case you're wondering: I tripped over a large wooden chest while running through our darkened bedroom trying to get to Littles who was screaming blue murder from his bed. When I limped into his room, battered and bloody, to find out what was wrong, he blithely informed me that he "doesn't like going to bed". 

Yes, he is still alive. Yes, it was a close one. 

Since then I have managed to change the light bulb that had blown out which caused me near dismemberment. Which then answers the age old question: how many blonde, twin-nant deployed spouses does it take to change a light bulb? One, only one, but she will nearly kill herself before she gets the time and energy to do so.

Anyway! Let's talk about some of the fun and extremely easy things that I have done around the house since the Man left. First off, I found this beautiful printable right here, printed it off and stuck it in a frame. It's by Jennifer at Studio JRU, who also provided my free Easter printable (there's a picture of it on this blog in that exact same frame with that exact same Pathetic House Plant--which has actually grown an inch--and that exact same little chest of myrrh to remind me to be a living fragrance, though not in the way I have been since this pregnancy began). Anyway, the verse reads: 

My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever. Psalm 73:26

I couldn't have asked for a better verse to keep me company over the next few months.

See how my Pathetic House Plant has grown?
It's because I'm trying this new thing called watering.

The big reveal though (it's only big because I did it, and me doing crafting of any kind is shocking) is my new schedule board for the Little Man. I wrote a few weeks ago about some changes that were happening around our home and one that I had in the works but hadn't brought to completion yet. This is it, people. I've been writing down notes and finding cheap materials to rework this old bulletin board so that I can help my extremely Type A child know what to expect from day to day. Two days in, he's a huge fan. And honestly, so am I. But mostly because it required little to no effort on my part. Seriously. I didn't even buy the ribbon myself. A friend picked it up for me at the Hobby Lobby an hour away. And everything is attached to the bulletin board by tacks, which means that as soon as I am bored with the board (please, calm your hysterical laughter), I can do something else with it.

The day of the week is at the top next to the weather (I only had to make one weather card...it's always sunny here). Underneath it is our memory verse, Deuteronomy 31:8 ("The LORD himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged."), and then 12 halfed envelopes with the items for the day tucked in. It's easy enough to switch out things like "Mother's Day Out" or "library" or "play date" and leave the more regular ones like "feed the pets" and "walk the dog".

The last aesthetic change that's happened is courtesy of aforementioned friend who bought me the ribbon. Her husband, who happens to have the same name as mine, was deployed last year during this same time frame (he's also Security Forces). Being of a more craft-oriented and awesome persuasion, she and a friend of hers put together a deployment chain to help her daughter count down the days Daddy was gone. They included cards for every new month, for holidays, and for birthdays, and then you just move Daddy's picture from one link to the next with each new day. One of the great things about it is that you can see how far you've come through the deployment as well as how far you need to go. Naturally, there's always the possibility that more links will have to be added to the chain before he gets back, but what a great visual.

She went through and changed up all the cards to make them specific for our family and then brought it over for us to use while the Man is away. So far the boys have really enjoyed moving the Man's picture every morning. He's on day three above, as you can see. I have to admit though: I saw with chagrin where my friend had handily placed a card with the twins' due date. It was two walls over from the beginning of the chain. Guys, I'm not sure I'm going to make it. 

Incidentally, when she dropped off the chain for us, she also hung it, so that I wasn't crawling on top of chairs and beds to do so. I'm very spoiled. But considering how accident prone I am these days, she was probably just trying to keep the deployment chain from somehow killing me.

As is always the case, it's the little things that get you through the day: encouraging verses, making something pretty, being blessed by a friend giving from her heart, or just knowing what the plan is. Also, cookies. Cookies can get you through almost anything. And today double chocolate chip cookies were on the menu.