About Me

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I AM: wife to 1, mother to 3, sister to 2 and 5 steps, aunt to 27, not-so-much-a-chocoholic-anymore, coffee loving, cloth diapering wanna be (my youngest potty trained herself recently), friend to many.

Friday, November 19, 2010




Hello my friends!
The craft show came and went. The things I rushed and made towards the end of "creative time" did not move, but the things that didn't move at the last show practically sold out. Funny how that works! I have been doing some thinking on "no more craft show" just because there is a lot of creative work and investment in materials/patterns/time, and not a lot of earnings by the end of the show to really really make it worth while. But this show this last weekend was better than the last 2 combined and kind of restored my faith a little bit. I am happy to announce my mom and I will not be involved in the spring show, but will most likely have a booth in the next fall show.
I have also done some reflecting on what made me enter this world of madness in the first place. And then I remembered it was my passion for cloth diapers! The first 2 shows and a yard sale a couple of months back showed no respect or interest from anyone for cloth diapers. But this show this last weekend was completely different! The basket-o-diapers was the main conversation piece of our booth. Young and old picked up, touched, felt, squished, laughed, questioned and had nothing negative to say about the "next generation" of cloth diapers. I even had about 18 baby doll diapers that sold like hot cakes! One of them is now on a chihuahua pooch! lol The owner took the diaper out to her car and put it on her dog and took a picture for me to see. Its a good thing I have a great sense of humor and an appreciation for "whatever works"! And I even got a couple of custom orders! The picture is from the first order I will be delivering this afternoon. Which leads me to the next topic!!
I am technologically challenged. I think I accidentally threw away my good camera at my son's 4th birthday party. Since then I haven't been posting pictures of my own taking. Well, yesterday I finally dove in and pulled out the OLD camera and dumped some pictures, so you can "see" what's going on. :)
We have not been using our printer since we moved. #1. No toner #2. The computer got a bad virus and had to be fixed last spring, and when that happened the driver for the printer (?) was not re-installed. Well, I pulled on my big boy boots yesterday and decided I would figure it out! I had this nagging idea the printer brochure and discs were in a drawer in my room. Then I thought why would it be there? I haven't had it out since we moved, so it must be in a box in the storage closet. Yeah. I spent 45 minutes going through boxes and found nada. When I finally gave in and looked in the drawer in my room, guess what I found? Yup. Exactly what I needed. So, I walked through the steps and loaded what needed to be loaded, and dusted the printer, and man, we are in business now! Its kind of empowering. (wipes tear)
Moving on...
Coco Bean is learning to read. He brings a small book home every night in his backpack for us to read together. They are called Baggie Books because they are sent home in ziplocs. And its a different book every night. It amazed me one night last week. He went from recognizing letters to reading to me in a very short amount of time. WOW is all I can say.
Miss AJ is doing well grade wise. We are taking a break from karate for the winter and volleyball season is finished, so I am looking forward to peaceful evenings at home. She is missing the activities. She asked if she could do basketball (which runs a few nights a week through the winter) and the academics club. If the academics club does not have a lot of running back and forth for me, I'll consider it. But I gave a full hearty no to basketball. Sorry, sports fans. Its just too difficult with two little ones who need to be in bed at a decent time.
Curly Top is a little pistol. Since Halloween she's been asking for candy at every single free moment of the day. UGH. She is also changing her own clothes every time I turn around. Again, UGH. She is still mimicking every single move Coco Bean makes. Even the CRY every time mommy says its time to play. I know. I'm so mean to make a child go play with... T.O.Y.S. What is wrong with me???
The chickens have stopped laying eggs. I miss them. The ones from the store really do taste different; they lack in rich flavor. Hopefully they'll start laying again. Its almost time for the pigs to be slaughtered. My mouth is watering. And we are in the middle of deer season. My hunter of a hubby did get a deer the other day! And he's going back out to the woods in his next group of days off. Coco Bean wants a small bow and arrow so he can go hunting as well. Wait, maybe it was so he could be Robin Hood. I don't remember.
That's all for now! Time for another cup of coffee and a trip back up to my sewing room. :) Must fill another diaper order for Tuesday. YAY!!!

Thursday, November 11, 2010

Don't Eat the Charmin!


On the way home from picking up AJ, I stopped at the grocery store for some food items and some toilet paper. The TP is currently on its side in the middle of the kitchen floor. Curly Top was on her way through the kitchen when her attention was grabbed. She bent over to get a closer look. She touched the plastic and then asked, "Are deese marshmallows?" To which I responded, "No, dear. It's toilet paper." To bad her dreams will be flushed down the drain...
Well, the craft show is just a few days away. If you know me at all, you know I am one who is trying to overcome the disease of procrastination. It is very difficult, though, because procrastination runs deep in my veins. I have 2 items I want to mass produce for the show. Last week it was no big deal. "I have a WHOLE week left". No problem. Yesterday, however, I was thinking "this is a problem" as I was laid out on the couch with a 101.5 fever. The couch held me from 12:30 yesterday afternoon until 5:30 this morning. I awoke feeling much better and well rested. Now I don't know if it is because my little bug ran its course, or because of a concoction my prince charming made for me last night. I had never heard of it before, but last night drank it and this morning googled it. I was very thankful to read it was not a poisonous drink; he's not trying to knock me off. lol Pine Needle Tea. There are some nice pine's in our back yard, so we didn't have to spend $12.00 on a mail order box of tea. The pine needles are loaded with vitamin C. Prince charming chopped up the needles and let them steep, and added honey. He enjoyed a cup with me. AJ wanted a cup as well, but she is allergic to most trees and weeds and plants, so we decided against it lest she top her night off with a bottle of Benedryl. The flavor of the tea is a tad bit pine-y, but not so much you feel like you're sucking on a car air freshener. And with every sip there is a tingle at the back of your mouth. It cleared my sinus pressure almost immediately. Well, either the pine or the hot steam. And then I slept all night long.
Today I am hoping for a nice long shower, and to make my way back up to my sewing room. I fear I must clean up the house a bit. When mama's down, the tornado hits the house. I am thankful for the leftover baked spaghetti from the other night so no one had to cook last night. And I will put on a smile as I do the dishes and be thankful for the dishes themselves and for the family who ate off them.
And maybe I'll learn a little lesson from this that will prod me even more to become less of a procrastinator.

Tuesday, November 9, 2010

The fall craft show is this coming weekend. I am trying to rekindle my love affair with my sewing machine. I am spending more time with it than with any other member of my family. One of my friends was here last week with her little munchkin and we were all playing together in the sewing room. Sarah was helping cut out material, and the baby was playing in the pack-n-play. And well, Curly Top didn't want to be left out, so my over sized baby was crammed into the pack-n-play as well. I haven't put the play pen away yet, and little Curly Top wanted to play in it again today while I was working. When I am in craft show mode, "WHATEVER MAKES YOU LEAVE ME ALONE" is my answer to almost anything. So, I threw her in. She played with her babies and her Barbie phone and her blanket while I cut and sewed away. And then over the buzz of the sewing machine I heard her say to her baby, "My mommy won't cover me. My mommy won't cover me. My other mommy won't cover me." I didn't want to be the mean mommy of the little play group, so I finished my seam, cut the strings, and went to little Curly Top and covered her up. She looked up and said, "No, my OTHER mommy. She is upstairs in her office." and promptly took the blanket off. I have been replaced???? I was cracking up at her imagination as I made my way back over to my project. I haven't been replaced. Her "other" mommy can't make her pb&j or give her popcorn, but I did for lunch today! And now she is happily ready for a nap! And I will happily make my way back to my play room, after making coffee. I don't know which I love more; the coffee pot or the sewing machine. I don't think I could live without either.

Monday, November 1, 2010

another oops on my part...

If you need a refresher, go back to my first blog after Christmas 2009. There's a little ditty about all of the horrific things that happened to our family on Christmas. Find the line about my mom blowing up the ham. Pyrex glass everywhere.
Fast forward to this past Saturday.
My brother-in-law and two nephews are in town. They had called to see if they could come over. Of coarse my answer is YES!!! But then I had to inform them that my husband and daughter would be hunting until dark. (AJ was at a volleyball tournament, but would get ready for hunting and rush out the door as soon as she got home.) To my dismay he said they would wait until Sunday to come then, because the boys would want to see AJ, and they were to be at a set of grandparent's house that evening. Which is ok, but my prince charming had to go to work Sunday so wouldn't get to see them, and I really wanted to pack in as much time with the boys as possible. So I went into problem solving mode. I thought real hard and real fast and determined that maybe the grandparents and the boys would all want to come to my house if I made supper for all! Then the cousins could see each other, and my hubby could see the out of towners, and we could all be with the grandparents. So I made phone calls, and I thawed out two chickens. Everyone agreed!! Dinner was to be at 6:00 or so. AJ and prince charming could eat when they got back from hunting.
I dressed the birds. I seasoned one with seasoned salt and pepper and onion powder. I seasoned the other with a blend of rosemary and Parmesan, garlic, onion and pepper. My mouth was watering. I peeled and chopped potatoes for mashing. I opened two quarts of the garden green beans for boiling with bacon. I had plans of homemade biscuits. I made a chocolate oatmeal cake. Tea was brewing. Smells were wafting. I was smiling. My brother-in-law and prince charming were sitting on the porch speaking of manly things while my younger two were playing with my nephews. I couldn't help but peek at the birds. I noticed the dishes were dry and browning. So moisture was needed!! I ran the tap water hot and put some in a measuring cup, and headed to the oven, and poured a bit into the first dish. Mid stream the Pyrex dish BURST! Glass shards and chunks were in the oven and on the floor and in the next dish over. My mouth dropped and I was stunned. What would we do?????? I went to the porch and asked the men to help me. They laughed at me. My brother in law made fun of me. "Wait til I tell your mom!!!" They asked how it could possibly happen. And they cleaned it all up. Then they asked what we would have for supper. My bro said we could all go out to eat. Which would be fine, except we had cake and green beans and mashed potatoes and biscuits in the works. I thought "WWGD"= What would Grandma Carol do?? Side note: Grandma Carol was a lady who could effortlessly and magically whip up a 5 course meal in 15 minutes while you swear she was sitting and talking in the living room with you the whole time. Mind blowing. Back to the story: Well, I had a package of chicken breasts in the freezer and some deer meat. So, I seasoned the breasts like the bird with the rosemary, and I made a meatloaf with the burger. Dinner would be about 45 minutes late, but problem solved. My dad and step-mom brought salad and ice cream and strawberry lemonade cake. Prince Charming and AJ made it home as the table was loaded with food. We feasted and enjoyed every one's company!!
I am so grateful our table is big enough to seat 10, even if 2 people are at the corners. I am grateful my husband repaired some chairs so we have enough to seat 10. I am so very grateful we have food we can share when we have friends and family over. I am grateful for my family. All of my family. Immediate and extended and all of the "steps".
And most of all, I am grateful I have two more Pyrex dishes. hahahaha

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