I'm Back??

So, my cousin has been hounding me forever to blog some more.  And I've been dragging my feet.  I have not felt very blog-worthy for a while.  But the other day, something happened.  And I thought "this will make a great blog!".  So.  Here we are.  Please don't get so excited that when you get finished reading you think... Is that all?  THIS is what she blogged about after being absent for soooooo long? and then you're disappointed.  I don't want anyone to be disappointed.  Well, my mom and my big sister might be, because they already heard this story.  Straight from me.  But, they'll probably laugh again anyway.
Now before I build this up too big, you have to know I'm going to write about coupons.  I know!  You're excited, right???  (You're thinking "Tara!  After being gone so long you're writing about coupons???  Do you have a life???" to which I will reply... YES! but not an exciting one where I get to go be a spy, or go skiing, or visit a foreign country or something.)  So, coupons it is.

My husband believes all the credit for my coupon adventure should go to him.  I guess, technically I should give the kudos to him.  And I did feel a little like Sandra Bullock's character in The Blind Side when she had to tell her husband, "You were right" and he asked "How did that taste" and she replied, "Like vinegar".   My mother gets some credit, too.  They've been telling me here and there over the years to coupon.  My thing is I shop a lot at Aldi(s) (have to put the "s" at the end, or it doesn't sound complete.  But I know the store sign has no "s" it!) and some other grocery stores.  But we have a very tight grocery budget, and I really try to stick as close as I can to it.  And I make a list of only the essentials before I go to the store, and I stick to that list!  I don't buy a lot of processed food or boxed food. (My oldest is now allergic to soy, along with a whole list of other foods.)  I use generic.  I'm proud of it!  Well.  We don't have cable or satellite, but we do have Netflix.  And once in a while new programming is added to the service.  A few weeks ago I noticed a new show called Extreme Couponing--or is it Couponers?  I can't remember right now.  One or the other. And I turned it on, and I was in AWE.  We're talking ladies and men who spend hours upon hours clipping and sorting coupons, and then scouring the store sales ads, and then walking through the store on a pre-shopping trip, to be able to buy cart loads of products and then use their coupons so they only have to pay like, a penny.  My heart did a little flutter.  My head gave a challenge.  I said "I can do this!"  I don't think I can swing the just pay a penny part, but I think I can do better than my current style.

So, last Sunday we purchased three newspapers and clipped coupons.  Then I got online and found more.  I compared what I had to the sales ads and made a plan.  I made lists out for what I thought was the best fit.  And I am not ashamed to admit I did spend a lot of time doing all this prep.  A lot.  Like more than 6 hours.  I waited in excited anticipation for Tuesday afternoon to arrive.  Tuesday.  My go-to-town-and-cram-as-many-errands-as-possible-day.  That particular Tuesday, the kids and I left for town a little earlier than usual.  My oldest and I were getting our hair done (Shout Out to my cousin, Bobby Houston at Rock-N-Rollers in Sedalia, MO), then a few errands, then I was to drop my oldest off so she could sew and I would go grocery shopping.  At the hair salon I saw we were "scattered about" with books and binders, and coats and stuff, and we needed to consolidate our things so the people at the salon wouldn't think we were trying to take over.  My binder (with my coupons and plan of attack-er-uh-grocery list) and book got stuck in my daughter's purse.  Other things got straightened up, and we no longer were scattered.  I didn't think too much of it.  After lunch, and a trip to the library, and whatever else we did, I drove my daughter seven miles back out of town to her destination, I grabbed my binder from her purse, kicked her out of the car, and I headed back into town to go shopping!!!!  Found my parking space, unbuckled the other kids, and we marched inside the supermarket and got a cart.  I wanted to find out if my internet coupons would be accepted before I filled my cart.  I waited my turn at the customer service counter, and finally was able to ask.  I opened my binder, but alas!  To my dismay, there was only ONE coupon and my list.  My heart and stomach sank.  I blinked a few times, opened and closed and re-opened my binder, and was trying to keep cheerful as I realized my coupons (all my hours and hours of hard work!) had fallen out into my daughter's purse--SEVEN miles away.  The bright side??  The one coupon I had was for a dollar off of two bags of Halloween candy--that was already on sale!  So, I did use it!  And I picked up a few other things as well.  I knew I was going back to town a few days later, so I could hold my horses and wait til Friday to venture back to that store.
Well, there you have it.  My first couponing story.  Are you happy I shared?  I can give you "the rest of the story", but it will have to wait for another time.  Its getting late, and I know you're getting tired of all the sentences starting with "and".  My dad is the produce man at that store, so the trip was not entirely wasted, because we got to see him.  And we got chocolate.  The end.

Its been a long time, you say? Have you missed me? Would you like to know what we're up to?

We have been enjoying the pork from the freezer. AJ has not missed taking care of the pigs. In fact when Prince Charming and I talked about getting more pigs, she quickly piped in "NO WAY". Coco Bean is now reading with ease. He can also do basic addition and subtraction. He would much rather have 50 problems crammed onto one notebook paper than do 50 flash cards. Curly Top is no longer curly, except on very high humidity days. So I'm thinking we need to give her another nick-name... How about what we call her every day: Nickel Pickle.

In trying to come up with something to blog about just now, my heavy thinking was interrupted by something in my peripheral view. Coco Bean is Indiana Jones today. His cowboy hat is his fedora. His old monkey leash (backpack with a harness on it) is his whip and satchel. And his little voice is continuously humming the Indiana Jones theme song. I looked up in time to see him "lasso" a metal vine on my bakers rack, and he had a look of determination on his face. With his hands he was pulling on that whip to make sure it really was secure, and instantly I knew what he was thinking. Before he could raise his foot to climb, I blurted, "Indiana, don't you even think about scaling my bakers rack, or there will be big trouble!" He looked at me, gave me a sheepish grin, and unhooked the monkey tail leash from my piece of furniture. I guess I guessed it right! Oh, my.

Nickel Pickle is now begging for a snack. Less than 10 minutes ago she had a 2 egg omelet. She's wanting dessert. Can anyone say she's MY child??

I finally got caught up on pillow orders. Last month. I have a few I need to finish for gifts from myself. I have missed sewing for my own family. But I believe the sewing shoppe will close for just a bit to outside orders so I can have a little break from the pressure, and so I can sew for my house for the holidays and my kids for Christmas. (Christmas is less than 3 months away, People!!)

While the kids enjoyed public school last year, the parents (myself and Prince Charming) did not enjoy the fact there were drugs in 6th grade!, the multiple PG-13 movies the 12 year old class watched without parental consent, and the sad realization AJ was not challenged at all- basically her education was put on hold for a year. We had heard enough about her class being "the bad eggs" from countless teachers and parents and we didn't want her to become one. Coco Bean did wonderful in kindergarten. I have a great amount of respect for his teacher being able to wrangle 21 kids, and teach them to count, read and write. They are both back home with me this year, and we are back on track with the Robinson Curriculum. Both kids were upset they would not be seeing their friends every weekday, but I think they are thrilled to go on fun field trips (such as a corn maze), and that they don't have to be standing at the end of the driveway waiting for the bus at 6:45 am. And maybe mama's lunch is better than school lunch. :) (and Coco Bean really loves he can be Spiderman, Mario, Peter Pan, or Indiana Jones as he does his work.)

I do not have any pictures to share this post. Our computer bit the dust, got fixed, and then after being re-booted it bit the dust again. Computers do not have 9 lives like cats do, unfortunately. My wonderful landlady/friend/grandma-to-the-kids-figure has kindly let me borrow her computer. Out of respect to her, I will not fill her computer with all of my pictures. Though she might actually like them, I don't want her to feel like I'm making her watch all my slides from a vacation 20 years ago.

I guess that's about it for now. I am going to enjoy one more cup of coffee, and make sure the children are on track with today's lessons, and then I am going to sew.

Welcome to our happy home

My little Curly Top will be 3 this weekend. We are not buying her any store bought toys. Instead, I am making her gifts. So far I have made a Tinkerbell name pillow (at her request), a Tinkerbell costume (also at her request), and quite frankly, the cutest thing I think I have ever made, this little doll house. I found a tutorial here and put it together last night. I sewed the buttons (for closure) on this morning. The whole thing took about 2 1/2 hours. I did buy the little wooden peg people from www.gemmielou.etsy.com. I looked all over, and this shop had the most reasonably priced. I am so excited about it. Its all I can do to keep it hidden and not bring it out to play with it myself! I can't wait to see her face. I hope she loves it.

Throw a wrench in it

I used to pride myself on being easy going and spontaneous. Over the last year or so I am having a hard time admitting to myself I am not that way anymore. I want to be in control. And if I have my day planned, you'd better not mess up my schedule. You see, if you do, you may see me roll my eyes, sigh, and stomp my feet a little bit.

I am trying my best to keep a clean house. A facebook friend nailed it the other day when she posted, "I have come to the realization that since I've had kids I don't clean. I just organize the mess." If there were an "AMEN, SISTER" button I would have clicked it!!!

I also am trying to keep up with the kids' appointments. Luckily AJ is not in any sports this season. But we have doctors appointments for ear infection follow-ups, appointments for shots (apparently when we switched doctors last year the shot records fell through the cracks and I am just finding out that all 3 kids are behind. Nice.) Birthday parties, academic contests, honor choir, valentines party... if you're a mommy you know the drill.

I also found a sewing niche recently that has sent my "sewing business" (I have been trying to get up and running for 4 years...) sky high for me!!! This is soooo exciting!! At the moment I have more orders for these pillows than days in the month.

Then there are the normal trips to the grocery store, gas station, fabric shop (aka Wal-Mart (big sigh and roll of eyes because compared to some quilt shops the fabric at WM is a joke!))

And we live out in the boonies, so I really try to orchestrate as many things as possible into one trip into town. Well, if I wait for the kids to get home from school to leave, I'd better have supper in the crock pot or plan on sandwiches otherwise everyone will be a whiney mess come supper time.

With all of these things, I have become a much better planner and follower of the plan. The kids usually fall in line.

Coco Bean got sick this week. Wrench in plan. With him home for 2 days being more needy than usual it was hard for me to stick to my schedule. And with him home for 2 days, well, lets just say he's a normal 5 year old boy who likes to play but doesn't like to clean up. Wrench in plan.
And there's Curly Top who has only just discovered if mommy is not looking she can get into any drawer or cupboard and pull as much out as she possibly can until mommy discovers what she is doing. And being 2, she can't really put things back in an orderly fashion. Wrench in plan.
And the heater coil went out on my car last week. So I can't drive it. Luckily my loving husband is giving up his vehicle for me. But that means on the days he works Curly Top and I have to be ready very early, in time to take him to work. Don't get me wrong. I am very grateful I am not left being home bound. But that extra hours worth of drive time is a wrench in my plan.

Now, before you go and tell me to count my blessings, let me tell you I count my blessings every single day. It is a blessing I am a stay at home mom and I can stay home and take care of a sick child. My 3 children are such a blessing to me. I would be lost without them. I love that they have activities they are involved in. I am thankful my husband is giving up his ride so I'm not high and dry. I am thankful for my sewing machine and for my grandma who taught me to use it.

I also know that my saga is not that different from most other moms out there. I am not asking for a Bozo Button or a gold medal because I think I'm Mom of the year for being able to coordinate our life.

I am just blurting out that my mentality can sometimes be that of a 2 year old, and when "MY" plans get messed up I will throw a tiny tantrum. Then I will collect myself, wipe my face off, come up with a new plan, and then get up off the floor and get busy. Maybe one of these days I will wear a catcher's mitt and be able to catch that wrench as its coming at me, and then will some suave finness I will just tuck a wisp of hair behind my ear, smile, and take plan B. I'll let you know when that time comes.

This little piggy

Sunday was D day for our swine. We've had the X on the calendar for a while. My daughter, whose chore it was to take care of the pigs, has been eagerly anticipating a happy dance. We have never been a part of getting any kind of live stock, other than cats and dogs, into a vehicle for transport. I believe my husband thought it would be a little easier than it was. He created a corridor for the pigs to walk out of their pen and over to the ramp of the trailer. We had some friends present to help, both of which have been a part of farming cows and pigs. We. Well, I was there, but I wasn't "in" with them. I was behind a make shift corridor wall holding it steady. My feet never got in the mud. However I was following orders. I offered to get in. Now my daughter is a different story. She was ready for anything. Her idea was to saddle up and ride the pigs from the pen to the trailer. To make a long story (like 2 1/2 hour long) short: pigs were lured, pigs freaked out, pigs ran back into pen. Repeat a few times. Pigs were lured, pen entrance was blocked, pigs freaked. Everyone stayed quiet and still til pigs were calm. Pigs got lured with lots of food, including my spicy sweet Doritos. Landlord came and laughed, and then got in to help. Finally pigs got into trailer. Ground started out as a grassy patch. But by the end of the ordeal it was as muddy and mucky as the pig pen. Daughter amazed me. No one got hurt. Our friends are a huge blessing for helping. Hubby and friends transported pigs to butcher. In 3 weeks we will have a freezer full of pork!!! And AJ's chore time has been cut in half. Happy Dance.

Moving on. This little piggy. I have been thinking about trying to lose weight for a long long time. 5 years ago I lost 40 pounds. Then we had baby #3, and I gained it all back and then some. Last spring, almost a year ago, I got plantar fasciitis in both my feet. I suffered with it until this past October. It was horrible. I could barely walk in the mornings, and by the evenings I thought my feet would fall off. One of the causes is being over weight. I couldn't really go walking with that condition. And I couldn't do my workout videos. So I really became sedentary. Bad. Well, my feet healed up, and since then I have been "planning" on starting a good exercise/diet program. Here we are, 4 months later and I don't have one going yet. In the last few days I have noticed my left foot is starting to bother me again. Its not "bad" yet, but I seriously do not want it to be out of commission again. So, its either do something now, or really pay for it soon. One of my friends who blogs has started The Pants of Truth on Mondays. (disclaimer: her blog is not for the light of heart. She tells it how it is and doesn't hold anything back) She has somewhat inspired me to jump on her bandwagon. But she is braver than me. She takes a picture of the number that appears on her scales. I could do the same, but then I would tell you the piano got on with me. So, today I have started a very basic routine. And by basic, I mean basic. No frills. I just jumped on my little trampoline until my face turned purple. (only about 4 minutes) And I drank a glass of water and took a multi vitamin. I also wrote down my weight and measured all over; waist, stomach, hips, thighs, etc... A few weeks ago I stopped using sugar in my coffee and started using liquid Stevia. I picked up a brochure for Vim & Vigor weight loss plan at the Dutch food market the other day. The bottle of Vim & vigor sells for about $17.95. Its vinegar with some other ingredients. The brochure says to take 1/2 ounce of this concoction before breakfast and again before supper. Then exercise 10 minutes a day. And eat sensibly. Oh, and drink at least 7 glasses of water a day, adding an extra glass for every cup of tea or coffee you consume. This brochure claims if you follow this plan you will lose 7 pounds and 7 inches in 7 days. See, very sensible. But I am not paying $17.95 for a bottle of fancy schmancy vinegar. I know raw apple cider vinegar will do the same toxin flushing and other good stuff for you type thing, and I already have a bottle of it in my pantry. I didn't take it before my bowl of dry generic apple jacks cereal this morning because I didn't "start" my plan until after it was already consumed. But I did jump, and drink a glass of water. And I am blogging about it. If I am held accountable, then I will have a better success rate. If after 7 days I have this 7 pounds and 7 inches success, I might get brave and share a picture of the piano on the scales with me.

Think outside the boots, er, uh, box

This picture was taken one week ago when we had snow and wind chill temps in the negative teens. Since then, the weather has changed, bringing sunshine, wind, and warmer temps; yesterday's high was 75. The sun's rays have melted all of our snow rather quickly, creating quite a muddy mess. The pigs are in hog heaven with all of the mud. Good thing they are happy. They only have 2 1/2 days until they go to the butcher's. (happy dance!!!)
My 12 year old, AJ, is the lucky one tasked with the chore of feeding, watering, and taking straw for bedding to our 2 piggies. She hasn't had any trouble with this task except in extreme cases of rain, ice, and yesterday's mud.
It normally takes AJ about 30 minutes or so to get her chores done. Feed and water the dogs, feed and water the chickens, collect eggs, and feed and water the pigs. I guess she does start with the pigs just to get the hard part over and done with. I normally keep my ear open to listen to her normal sounds: singing at the top of her lungs, tossing buckets, getting water, coming in the back porch to grab the egg basket... Yesterday I was cleaning up a paper clutter spot and it dawned on me I hadn't heard her for a while. I glanced at the clock and realized she'd been outside for 45 minutes or so. I went out the front door and hollered her name. She quickly screamed, "Mom! Come help me!!!" The momma adrenaline kicked into high speed and I ran from the porch, through the yard, across the road, back behind the barn, and... Came to a complete stop and started laughing. The sight of my daughter was priceless. The look of tear stained defeat. Shoulders slumped. And then the puzzlement when she saw I was laughing. AJ: "Mom, I've been yelling at the top of my lungs for help and now my throat hurts, and so does my head." Me: "Why are you just standing there?" AJ: "I'm stuck." Sure enough, she was calf deep in mud and couldn't pull her feet out. And, I failed to mention she was in the middle of the pig pen.
Now, two days ago we had quite a fiasco as well. She was taking longer than usual so I hollered to her and she said, "Mom, I need your help. The pigs are out!" They had busted through their gate and were out in the cattle pasture. Well when they saw the food bucket on the path to their pen they came back with no fuss whatsoever and while they ate, AJ and I make-shift fixed the gate as best we could. Think cinder blocks and 550 cord and one handy dandy square knot (tied by yours truly, thank you very much).
But last night the pigs were peaceful and not causing any ruckus and were not even trying to head butt AJ into the water tub (like one tried to do last week). They were just looking at her, wondering what she would do next and when she would get out of their pen.
She asked me again to help her. Me: "What do you want me to do?" AJ: "Get me out!" Remember I was not expecting this. When I called out to see where she was, she yelled for help. I didn't take time to put my mud boots on. I just ran. In my pink slippers. Do you think I am getting in calf high mud in my pink slippers, white socks, and good blue jeans? Uh Uh. No. Thank you. She just pleaded with me. I told her she needs to start thinking of solutions before she sank like quick sand. She said she'd been thinking for 20 minutes and was still stuck. Now she was holding an empty bucket. I told her to take one foot out of a boot and put her foot in the bucket. Then she could use both hands to pull her boot free. Worked like a charm. Then I had to tell her to put the foot back in the boot, take her other foot out of her other boot, put the other foot in the bucket and pull that boot free. That boot was STUCK. She pulled and pulled and couldn't get it. She was going to wear the bucket out of the pen. I said NO WAY, Jose! I told her to use her hands to dig and pull the boot out. She started crying. She pulled her sweatshirt sleeve over her hand (only one hand) and worked that boot free. As soon as she got that boot out, one of the pigs decided it was a perfect time to go #1. AJ yelled: "That's what I had to put my hands in! Gross!" To which I chuckled yet again. After her pride was totally hurt, her sleeve mud and muck covered, and her boots were free, she sloshed out of her little swamp land and got out of the pen. We had a talk about helping yourself with what you have instead of waiting for someone else to dig you out of a mess. And then she had a shower. I know she will be glad in 2 1/2 days time.

Sometimes you get what you ask for

In my coffee cabinet one can find many many coffee mugs. Some are huge, like 12 ounce size, and some are a dainty 4 ounce size. One particular afternoon I was needing a bit of coffee, but was not in the mood to swig from the 12 ounce buckets, so I asked my wonderful, full of good humor and waiting skills daughter to get me a small cup of coffee. (How's that for a run on sentence??)
And that is exactly what she served to me.

No, I didn't drink glue. That's just in the picture to help you size up my little cup.

Well, doggone it. I have tried for about 2 1/2 hours to upload this one measly picture. But, as fate would have it, my computer is NOT cooperating. So, I will have to try again later. Please stay tuned.

Keeping the vampires away

I woke up in the night feeling like my tongue was not helping me swallow right. I went back to sleep. After my alarm so delicately woke me up this morning (note the sarcasm), I found my handy dandy flashlight and bathroom mirror, and looked at my tonsils. Holy smokes. They are swollen so big they are almost touching. So I found the garlic bulb on the window ledge, took off a clove, did the Rachel Ray smash it with the blade of a knife move, sliced it into about 8 pieces, and one by one swallowed about 5 of them with gulps of water. Then I proceeded to gargle with some potent salt water. I think in my pre-coffee stupor I was expecting instant renewal of health. Instead I got instant garlic burps. I know the garlic will help, but in the meantime I know I will be warding off the vampires. and the kids. and the prince charming. Hmm. Maybe I will get some quiet time today after all!!!

Random

A purple skeleton, a mini frisbee, and a toy tuna can.

What do these items have in common?

Did you guess yet?

Give up?

The other night after the kids were in bed, I was getting ready to go out and put more wood in our Hardy stove. I was already wearing my black hooded jacket. I put the hood on and these toys rained down on my head. Apparently my little Curly Top placed them there for safe keeping. Apparently I was paying more attention to facebook than to the 2 year old. You got me, Curly Top, you got me.

The Rules of a Toddler

My friend Cynthia shared this in a post today and I had to immediately hijack it. Such words of wisdom have never been spoken. Thank you, Cynthia!!

The Rules of a Toddler

If it is off, I must turn it on.

If it is on, I must turn it off.

If it is folded, I must unfold it.

If it is a liquid, it must be shaken, then spilled.

If it a solid, it must be crumbled, chewed or smeared.

If it is high, it must be reached.

If it is shelved, it must be removed.

If it is pointed, it must be run with at top speed.

If it has leaves, they must be picked.

If it is plugged, it must be unplugged.

If it is not trash, it must be thrown away.

If it is in the trash, it must be removed, inspected, and thrown on the floor.

If it is closed, it must be opened.

If it does not open, it must be screamed at.

If it has drawers, they must be rifled.

If it is a pencil, it must write on the refrigerator, monitor, or table.

If it is full, it will be more interesting emptied.

If it is empty, it will be more interesting full.

If it is a pile of dirt, it must be laid upon.

If it is stroller, it must under no circumstances be ridden in without protest. It must be pushed by me instead.

If it has a flat surface, it must be banged upon.

If Mommy's hands are full, I must be carried.

If Mommy is in a hurry and wants to carry me, I must walk alone.

If it is paper, it must be torn.

If it has buttons, they must be pressed.

If the volume is low, it must go high.

If it is toilet paper, it must be unrolled on the floor.

If it is a drawer, it must be pulled upon.

If it is a toothbrush, it must be inserted into my mouth.

If it has a faucet, it must be turned on at full force.

If it is a phone, I must talk to it.

If it is a bug, it must be swallowed.

If it doesn't stay on my spoon, it must be dropped on the floor.

If it is not food, it must be tasted.

If it IS food, it must not be tasted.

If it is dry, it must be made wet with drool, milk, or toilet water.

If it is a car seat, it must be protested with arched back.

If it is Mommy, it must be hugged.

The Gingerbread Man

A few nights before Christmas after my oldest two kiddos had gone to bed, little Curly Top was still wide awake. Prince Charming was home and we were all three at the dining room table. Coco Bean had made a (graham cracker) gingerbread house in kindergarten before Christmas break, and it was on display on the table. I was holding Curly Top while talking to Prince Charming. After our conversation was finished I asked Miss Curly if she could sing the ABC song for her daddy. She started singing but about 3/4 of the way through she stopped and demanded, "Who's in that house?" She was looking fiercely at the gingerbread house. I laughed and said, "No one." and tried to get her to finish the song. She sang about 2 more letters and once again abruptly stopped and said, "But WHO is in THAT house?" And I giggled as I said, "No one." And she bluntly stated, "Yes it is. It's the Gingerbread Man!" I had to pick up the house and show her there were no inhabitants. I LOVE her little mind. :)

Like I said last time, it might just be best to move backwards in the "catch up" of my blogging.
I was going through the pictures we took in December and cracked up at the ones from our Christmas program at church. NONE of my oldest turned out. She is a blur in them all. How disappointing! But I did get some good ones of the younger two. I even got the one of my son with his finger in his nose, but am not sharing it today. This was the first program with my youngest, Curly Top, participating. She was not involved in any of the 2 rehearsals, so she really didn't know what to think. Luckily she was a sheep and there were 2 shepherds to keep her in line. My little Curly Top loves baby dolls. Especially dolls with hair or eye lashes. She is a thumb sucker, and while she sucks she plays with hair or eye lashes. In the program, baby Jesus did not have hair, but he did have lashes. So I got a picture of her hand in the manger trying to get those lashes. And the second picture is my Coco Bean and Curly Top just standing and looking out at the crowd, and just being. Not being funny our loud or even happy! These cannot be my children! I am a smile-er. All the time. Smile. How in the world can they just stand there in the spot light and not be a teeny weeny bit thrilled to be there? I LOVE this picture. These two kiddos did not have a hard task in the program. They were to be sheep. No lines, no songs. But my oldest, AJ, was a narrator. One of three. They basically told the nativity story in modern day language while the other kids acted it out. Short, sweet, to the point, and they did a good job. AJ even smiled the entire time. I knew she was mine. :)

Well, it looks like the pictures did not load in order. The first is my non-smilers, and the second is Curly Top getting those lashes.

Happy New Year!

So many things to talk about. After all, Christmas came and went, as did all the Christmas projects. But where to start? I could smush it all in this one posting, but I fear you may be sleeping before the last sentence. So I shall hit a few hi-lites. Maybe start with today and work myself backwards?? I think that sounds like a plan because I made something I really LOVE today. Earlier this week I was re-introduced to a site I get lost in. A site I love. A site containing only patterns. Go figure. Me? Love patterns? Noooo. And while I was on that site I found the most perfect pattern for any child's gift! A personalized name pillow. How perfect the timing; we had a birthday party to go to today for a 3 year old precious little friend. The pattern didn't call for anything crazy, and most pieces were conjured out of larger fabric scraps I already had. Silly me. I printed out said pattern Thursday morning. I was going to clean a bit (will save that story for another post) and then sew. But a little bit of cleaning turned into a rampage, so I didn't sew. Then yesterday I needed to run to town for errands in the morning and was going to sew in the afternoon, but I got some crazy kind of pressure build up in my eyes and had to lay down for a while instead. So, that left this morning as the only sewing time available before the party. Hmm. Does this sound familiar? Me--waiting until the last moment to start a big project? Noooo. Not me... I got up a little early, made coffee and muffins, checked my favorite Internet sites, and then marched up to my sewing room. My Fun Room. And I went to work. I emerged at noon with a finished product. I showed my kids to see if they approved. And now all of them want their own pillow. I do believe I can accommodate their wishes. But not tonight. Then I had to hurry like my pants were on fire to shower and get ready to leave the house by 1:15. Hmm. Do you think I cut the time a little close? Yeah, well, who's counting? Well tell me, how do you think it turned out?
P.S. The site I got the pattern from is youcanmakethis.com

By the way, I did find a set of A-Team walkie talkies on Ebay, just like I had when I was little. I had forgotten they were not battery operated. They were joined by a long plastic cord; think tin cans and string here. They were only $4.99 plus shipping. I didn't bid on them. But I did show the listing to my prince charming who just shook his head and walked away. But deep down, I know he wants a set of these for Christmas.

Ebay is my Weakness! Part 2

Move over CPK, forget My Friend Becky!! Welcome 1950's vintage doll patterns, and extend your hand to the classic dolls that made those patterns what they are! I had finally cleared my "watch list" of the dolls mentioned in the previous post. I had a realization that what I really wanted was to sew the dolls clothes and not play with the dolls myself. Don't get me wrong. I still have vivid memories of my dolls from the past, but I also know that having one today won't magically put me in a time machine and take me back to my childhood. So, instead of looking for more dolls I knew I wouldn't bid on, I started looking at the patterns for them. I have a few original CPK patterns that belonged to my Grandma, but I have none for Becky, or any that would fit Becky. So I started searching original patterns for her. And then I came across one that said, "Betsy McCall's Friend Mandy" which is the doll who started the "My Friend..." collection. Well, I didn't know who Betsy McCall was, so I had to do a search for her. Lets just say I opened a door (or rather, Pandora's box) to a whole new world of dolls. Dolls my mom is most certainly familiar with. Note: when I was a kid, every so often my mom would pull her childhood dolls (I think there were only 2 of them) out to "show" my sisters and me. We were allowed to look, but never touch them. Even though my mom went on and on about how beautiful they were, their faces kind of creeped me out. And one of them was much bigger than our average dolls. That creeped me out a bit as well. And then there was a memory (sorry to do this mom, I'll be as discreet as I possibly can!!) of an evening when it was late and mom was a little tired and a lot slap happy, and she started impersonating her walking doll. It was really funny! But also REALLY CREEPED me out. I used to think if any of my dolls moved like that I'd for sure get rid of them PRONTO. Well, yesterday Ebay opened the door to the days before my time. The golden yesteryear. I met Patsy Sue, Linda Baby, Terri Lee, Posie, Tony, Betsy McCall and her little sister Linda, Daisy, Ann Estelle, Roberta, Honey, Gum Drop, Princess Mary, Rosemary, Nanette, Mary Hartline, Sara Ann, Fluffy and Sweet Sue. Granted, not all of these dolls are from the 50's; they may range a few decades (but I didn't go THAT far in my research). #1. I think my mom's doll may be Roberta, Princess Mary, or Rosemary. She'll have to tell me which one. #2. My name is Tara LeeAnn, and growing up my mom would call me Terri Lee and I HATED IT! My name is Tara, NOT Terri!!! However I didn't know until yesterday there is a BEAUTIFUL DOLL Named Terri Lee. I called my mom and told her it will not hurt my feelings any more if she calls me Terri Lee! Really, you can ask her! lol #3. I found out why my mom had to do a moving impersonation of her doll. It is a "walker" doll. The doll is designed to walk and because it doesn't have bones and free motion, it only has joints so will walk a little CREEPY! There is a collection of dolls called "Saucy Walkers". Some of them do have faces that remind me of Chucky, but some of them are extremely beautiful! They range in size from 7.5 inches to 30 inches. And there are patterns for almost all of them. Patterns I have fallen in love with. I have mentioned on the blog before I am a sucker for vintage patterns. Mercy. I am in trouble. Now I have about 150 patterns in my watch list! And a few of the dolls, too. I like the Patsy and Honey dolls. And something else I realized. My grandma had some dolls for us to play with in the toy closet in her house. After she passed away, I kept some of them. No one else wanted them. They were small and plastic and old. Well, I had them until last year when we moved. We got rid of a lot of stuff we either weren't using or didn't need/want anymore. Guess which bag those dolls went into. Notice I said "bag" and not "moving box". I believe their final destination was Open Door. Maybe they met my Cabbage Patch girls. Those dolls were made by Effanbee. One was just a plain ol, nothin' special baby doll. But the other was an 8" Fluffy. Grandma had even made a few clothes for it, but I don't have the pattern she used. I could just kick myself. I don't have any 8 inch dolls to sew for here in the house. But there are so many 8 inch doll patterns available. I am a mess, I tell you! And today I told myself I am NOT going to Ebay. I have things that need to be done! But I have this hankrin', I want to see if what I was looking at is still available. My name is Tara, and I am an Ebay-aholic.

Ebay is my Weakness!

This week I think I have spent more time on Ebay than anywhere else. We're in the Christmas (present) season. For the last few years my family has been on a spending diet. We have trained ourselves to live "frugally". So in thinking about what I would like to get the kids for Christmas, I came up with a few ideas and went to ebay to see if I could find some good deals. What I really found was that I could sit and browse through the vast selections for HOURS on end. I DID! UGH. SHEESH. And then I realized I was looking for things I liked as a kid. Not the things that are cool today. I looked at My Friend Becky and Cabbage Patch Kids until my eyes were crossed and I had like 150 of each on my "watch list". And then I had another realization. I am getting old. Why? Because I don't even know what is COOL today. We don't have cable, so I don't keep up.
Then I found myself looking for vintage doll sewing patterns. My great-grandma, Mimmie, used to make dolls for all the granddaughters every Christmas. I am thinking about re-birthing that tradition with my daughters and maybe nieces. We'll see. Backtrack with me for a moment. Yesterday while I was yet again caught in 1983 and looking at the CPK's on ebay, I remembered that a few years back I still had all 3 of mine. Valentina Cornelia, Hetty Tara, and Olive Candace. They were my all time favorite dolls. And believe you me, I was NOT a doll person growing up. I hated Barbie, I didn't care for paper dolls. I loved my Billy the Kid cap gun, A-Team walkie talkies, and I wanted to be a stunt man when I grew up. (Some dreams do die!! Thank heavens.) But I loved my Cabbage Patch Kids. Well, I had saved them well into adulthood. I couldn't bear to part with them. Then after AJ was born, I pulled them out of storage and cleaned them up, and "lent" them to her to play with. But much to my dismay she didn't like them. She didn't play with them. She didn't dress them. She didn't want to take them with us in the car, she didn't want to take them to church, she didn't want to sleep with them or have tea parties with them. She didn't like them. Period. So finally after years of being a pack rat, I read some books on organization, and cleaning up the clutter, and how to keep memories without keeping things, and I went on a purging binge, and added my CPK's to the boxes of "stuff" to go to Open Door or Salvation Army. And I took them! Yesterday I vaguely remembered doing so, but in hopes that maybe, just maybe "their" box didn't go bye bye, I went through all my boxes in the storage closet to see if I could find them. I wanted to cry. The girls are gone. But I did find my boxes of handmade dolls from my great-grandma. I let little Curly Top pick 2 to play with. She likes them, but she doesn't want to see them when she's going to sleep. Sheesh. I also remember having My Friend Becky. I mean having her well into adulthood as well. And I remember purging her as well. But memories! She had a green dress with little pink flowers, white slip on shoes, and a white straw hat with an elastic band to hold it in place. She had the sweetest smile, and red hair. And my big sister had one just like her. My sis, DJ, and I used to share a room with a full size bed. When making the bed, we would mirror image our stuffed animals and dolls for display. It totally makes me want to go back to 1983!!!!! Had I kept Becky to ebay her (instead of donating her to charity) I could get $50 or more! Its crazy. Anyway, because I loved these dolls so much I was once again thinking maybe my little Curly Top might love them, too. So I spent time on Ebay looking for the perfect ones for her. I saved so many to my watch list! And then I got hit with a reality check. If the dolls are mint in box now, they are priced so high I won't pay for it. And if they are not mint in box, they've been out for around 30 years! collecting dust and germs and whatever! And do I want to spend good money on 30 year old dolls for my daughter who might hate them??? Probably not. A better question would be, "Tara, do you want one of these dolls for Christmas?" To which I would reply, "Shh, don't tell anyone, but YES!!!" I wouldn't play with them or take them to the store. But I would sew clothes for them. I have my grandma's vintage CPK sewing patterns. But the Fisher Price My Friends patterns are hard to come by. Ok, its getting late and my eyes are crossing. Time to say goodnight!!

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!!!

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.

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.